Re: False alarms

[Nomen Nescio <nobody@xxxxxxxxx>]

Bob Worthy said:

>Enhanced Call Verification is the fastest proven method to reduce dispatches
>to date. There is absolutely no cost to the muni, no work on their part,
>simply a reduction in request for dispatch. It is the easiest, fastest way
>to go for immediately reducing dispatches.

I've always thought enhanced verification was a pretty lame way to reduce
false alarms.  Yes, it will reduce false alarms, but for all the wrong
reasons.  It treats symptoms, rather than the underlying problem.

For those who are unfamiliar with enhanced verification, it consists of
having the central station call people until it can find someone who says
not to dispatch the police.  Sooner or later, the central will often find
someone who will do that, and all too often, that "someone" is not in any
position to know whether the alarm is false or not.  At which point, the
central station cheers and says, "Another false alarm prevented!  Look at
what a good job we're doing."

Intelligent filtering, or just precision guesswork?  Let's face it, if the
central station does not dispatch on an alarm, for whatever reason, 99% of
the time they will have made the right decision.  So does enhanced
verification really work?  Consider these enhanced verification scenarios:

1.  Burglar alarm signal from a residence during the daytime.  No answer at
the premises, so the central calls the owner's cell phone and asks whether
they should call the police.  The homeowner says, "No, it's probably the
housekeeper."  The owner isn't at the premises.  He has no way of knowing
whether it's the housekeeper or not.  But by choosing not to call the
police, odds are 99% he's made the right decision.  So long as he isn't
really getting robbed, everybody's happy.

2.  Nighttime burglar alarm call from a business.  The central calls the
owner, gets no answer, and calls the next name on the list, who is an
employee.  The employee tells the operator, "No, don't call the police, the
owner raised hell when he got his last false alarm bill from the city.
Call me if it goes off again."  The central cheerfully chalks up another
success story for enhanced verification.

Finding excuses not to dispatch is not false alarm reduction.

- badenov