Articles

Alarm system call list maintenance

January 20, 2016

CALL LIST / KEYHOLDER LIST ---- KEEP US UPDATED!

We take the services we provide for you very seriously. Sometimes we may sound like a broken record asking you to keep us updated on your "call list". Police agencies refer to those people as "key holders". It is really important that you have someone on your list that actually has a key to your business or home in case the authorities need access when responding to an alarm.

Many of you are owners of vacation homes, and are not in town much of the time. It is even more important that you have some sort of backup for when you are gone. If you cannot coordinate a neighbor or friend, you might consider employing a property manager for emergency follow up.

We recently had a homeowner (a vacation home) experience an activation of their alarm system. When the sheriff responded to the house, he found there was an unlocked door. He had difficulty securing the door and spent an extended amount of time trying to barricade the door in order to protect the home. (Thank you Deputy Beene!) That is beyond the call of duty and we are not always able to get that sort of response from law enforcement due to their time impacts.

We have also experienced certain law enforcement agencies refusing to respond without the assurance that a "key holder" was also responding, in order to allow access to the officers for checking the home.

In an effort to keep your homes and businesses as safe as possible, we strongly encourage you to keep us up to date on who you have available for response. This not only protects your property but also respects the time of the law enforcement agencies and their officers.

And if you don't know who is on your list …… call us and review it. It is good practice to do that at least once a year, as changes occur and we all get busy and forget to attend to our "call list".