CURRENT STATUS (October 1998):
October 1 - Meeting with Federal Way police officials to work on corrective action reports, billing and invoicing. This city is currently using the billing system, and we had to have Mark Schramm help to re-constitute the data, as the department had previously generated billings that were incomplete. Mark modified their data to meet the requirement of corresponding to the fiscal year process. Note to other coordinators: I would discourage departments to try this with the current FAAP. The next version should be more user friendly in that respect.
The city of Federal Way has volunteered to be a beta site for the new FAAP, and has been contacted in that regard by Marks office.
October 7 - Meeting with members of the Lacey PD to explore FAAP and its benefits.
October 9 - Meeting with Olympia PD. They are still working on the revision of their ordinance. The new Chief has indicated as a high priority, but is moving the process slowly.
October 14 - Meeting in Tukwila with the newly appointed Chief and his staff. He has made false alarm reduction a high priority. This is the only city participating in Washington that has seen no reduction in false alarms, possibly due to their four month back log in data entry. Its nice to see that after the meeting the backlog disappeared within two weeks, and the department is now working on their October data.
October 22 -Met with Sheriff Pederson, Cowlitz County, and his staff. The Sheriff retires on 31 Dec 98. This department stopped responding to residential alarms last year until becoming a part of the model states program. The new sheriff, a current member of the staff, was also present. He agrees that with a 36% reduction in false alarms his staff will take the program over by the end of the year and continue the effort.
October 26 - Meeting in Auburn. This city is very interested in allowing the finance department to use FAAP for billing purposes. The logistics are currently being worked out.
During the month of October 132 mailings were completed to alarm companies. To date, 76 % have responded. In analyzing these responses, they represent 91% of the false alarms received by participating agencies during the month of September. Since some forms were not sent until late in the month, additional responses will no doubt be received.
November meeting will include site visits to the city of Spokane. They will be ready to work with alarm companies directly as of the beginning of 1999, and the mechanics will be discussed during this visit. Also the cities of Yakima and Pasco will be contacted for the same purpose.
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs has its Fall conference during the week of November 16th. I will be making a report to the executive board and the membership on the progress to date and, hopefully, of the future of the program.
Future meetings include Federal Way and their attempts at creating an alarm users school, training for their staff, and development of their billing system from FAAP.
September 10 - Alarm dealer meeting at the Federal Way council chambers, program by Linda Crum, administrative secretary to the Police Chief.
September 15 - Western Washington Alarm Association meeting in Bellevue, presenting an update of the model states program.
September 22 - Installation of software and training of personnel at the Chehalis police department. New computer equipment had been installed and a re-installation was required.
September 28 - Meeting with the private sector liaison group at Mike Shanahan's home in Seattle. The meeting was well attended by members of private industry, and the focus and discussion related to the different partnerships that exist between the private sector and the law enforcement community. Model States is one of those successful programs.
September 29 - Installation of FAAP and training of personnel in the city of Kent. This department is not part of the model states program, but until now was the one holdout not participating in the program of the members of Valley-com 911 system.
September 30 - Meeting in Federal Way to address the possibility of a beta-site for the new version of FAAP. This agency is willing to participate in that mode, providing certain abilities are included in the new software. These will be identified within the next week.
During the month of September 127 letters were sent to various alarm companies. The return to date is between 75 and 80%, representing approx. 92% of all false alarms. It has been noted that the alarm companies not responding are those with few accounts. Most of the large companies are responding in a timely fashion.
The city of Federal Way is the first local agency to make contact with the alarm industry in providing corrective action forms directly. Currently I still monitor the returns and assist in solving problems. Many of the problems begin with the dispatchers identifying he wrong alarm company when alarms are called in. This creates a data entry problem that takes some time to correct.
For the month of October visits are scheduled for the cities of Yakima, Pasco and possibly Spokane. Spokane would be another good beta site for the next software version, and one that I hope will begin sending their own corrective action forms beginning in November.
Reported 9/3/98..
August 1- City of Auburn, assisting a new data entry person to become familiar with FAAP, also meeting with Cmdr Bob Lee and supervising dispatchers.
August 13- Meeting with Federal Way to assist in developing criteria for the pending alarm dealer meeting, to be held in Federal Way during September.
August 18- Meeting with Redmond PD and Dispatch. FAAP has been installed, training has been completed and the new false alarm ordinance has been reviewed in draft, and appropriate changes suggested. They are now collecting alarm info in a format that is conducive to dealer contact.
August 21- Meeting in Renton with ADT. Invited to speak at the meeting and explain the false alarm reduction process. ADT has been one of the most aggressive alarm companies to work with the coordinator. During their meeting they addressed each account that had been submitted for corrective action, in some cases agreeing that the account should be canceled due to problems that had no solutions, and an unwillingness of the customer to follow recommendations.
I submitted a number of items to the Washington Alarm Association for inclusion in their newsletter, including my experiences to date, and the progress report for the first six months of 1998. I find that, as the year progresses, the mailing process to alarm companies becomes larger, and where possible, this process will be channeled to the law enforcement agencies that are willing to do their own mailers. New departments that are coming on line are being steered in that direction immediately.
Reported 8/3/98..
July 7 - Meeting at the Mill Creek council chambers to discuss changes to the existing ordinance, to tailor new ordinance to IACP recommendations.
July 14 - Puyallup PD meeting to work on software issues and train a new employee on the use of the program
July 20 - Meeting with the WASPC executive board. The board was given an update on the state of the model states program, including the co-operation displayed by the alarm industry in attempting to deal with the worst offenders. The board voted to send a resolution to the industry in favor of continuing the program for at least one more year past March 1999. There a a number of law enforcement agencies in this state that hope to be included in the program in the future.
July 23 - Yakima PD has placed false alarm reduction at the top of their priority list. They will be installing the FAAP program in their dispatch center in the future. The meeting included both administrators and 911 center personnel.
July 24 - Annual meeting of the Washington State alarm association. Update of the program and the success to date was a part of the agenda and well received. This group also endorsed the continuance and expansion of the program. The alarm industries involvement in assuring that problem alarms are addressed was extremely gratifying for those present.
July 30 - Meeting with Cmdr Bob Lee at Auburn PD. They were experiencing some software problems that needed attention.
The City of Tukwila has decided to do their billing from an existing city program, but still report their worst offenders to the co-ordinator. This city is the only one that showed an increase in false alarms of all the jurisdictions in the program. They continually lagged behind by from two to three months in their data entry, and alarm companies contacted were reluctant to contact one of their customers that had alarm problems months ago, but no problems recently. This experience point to the fact that, to be effective, alarm companies need to be notified as soon as possible of the problems, so that they can deal with these early on.
I will attach a collection of information from departments for the first six months false alarm reduction efforts. It should be noted that Snohomish County, an agency that suspended response to residential alarms during 1997 until inclusion in this program, had a 5% increase in false alarms for the first six months of 1997, and a 47.7% reduction in false alarms during the first six months of 1998. ( Snohomish County reported 8865 false alarms in 1997). I asked their staff to take a second look, to assure correctness, and they reported that the figures were indeed correct.
Reported 7/3/98..June 9 - Western Washington Alarm Association meeting. This meeting was attended by chiefs from three Fire Departments, who requested follow-up on the application of FAAP for their alarm tracking requirements. I also expressed my concern to members present about the rate of return on corrective action notices that had been sent, and my pending six month report to Police Chiefs.
June 10 - Washington State Bankers Association. I was asked to be the speaker at this meeting, and was able to present the alarm reduction program, and the impact that the banking industry has on responders. This was a very co-operative group that offered assistance in any appropriate way, and provided the name of security contacts for that industry.
June 18 - Meeting with members of the city of Vancouver alarm unit, the Chief of Police, and representatives of Clark County. Installed the FAAP for their use, and provided technical support as needed. They have their ordinance in place, following IACP guidelines, but have requested that the state co-ordinator work with the alarm industry initially for corrective action purposes.
June 25 - City of Renton requested that FAAP be installed in their city police department. Renton is one of the original seventeen participating cities, but has only now changed their computer system to allow the installation and tracking. They will collect data beginning with Jan 1998.
June 26 - Yakima PD requested and received FAAP installation. Their police chief was present at the May WASPC conference executive training seminar, and has made alarm reduction one of his top priorities
June 29 - Meeting with Federal Way, developing their strategy for alarm user classes.
Participating cities are providing information from FAAP as agreed. During June seventy-two alarm dealers were notified and provided with corrective action reports. Approx fifty percent have returned the forms. It is duly noted that the larger alarm companies with the majority of accounts are the most diligent about returning the corrective action formats. Many of those failing to respond also do not respond to telephone calls, or messages left on answering services. I am currently following up with letters to owners of these companies.
Reported 6/5/98..May 4 - Pierce County and City of Tacoma, both agencies received a presentation of the software package, and are currently considering the compatibility to their existing system. The meeting was well attended, with both the Police Chief and Sheriff present.
May 11 - Conference of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs in Spokane. We held a two hour executive training session, attended by 31 Chiefs and Sheriffs. Chief Reader provided the introductions to the Model States program, the alarm industry was represented by Linda Murray, Evergreen Security, and Stella McDonald, Alarm Association Exec Director. The Spokane Police Department demonstrated their commitment to the programand spoke to the success experienced to this point. They also mentioned that the registration of accounts with the Police Department caused some complaints from the community. 12 departments present at the meeting have requested follow-up by the co-ordinator.
Participating Cities- Unchanged from April with 8 agencies providing information from FAAP. An early indication shows a 24% decrease in false alarms in commercial and a 34% decrease in residential accounts for the first four months of 1998 as compared for the same time frame in 1997. These findings are limited as some departments did not keep month to month statistics in 1997.
Four jurisdictions are still in the process of developing their ordinances. Drafts have been received by the co-ordinator, reviewed and returned to the agencies. Several agencies provide their "worst offender" list on a monthly basis, developed by use of their current software. Some of these are waiting for the next version of FAAP for review.
During May a total of 71 letters were sent to Alarm companies for corrective action. Since some law enforcement agencies did not complete their data entry until the middle of May, the returns have no been tabulated. Letters were sent to alarm companies with accounts with more than two false alarms YTD.
June meetings:
4 June, City of Algona. This City has a manual tracking system and has
requested the FAAP software installation and the appropriate training, as a result of their
attendance at the WASPC meeting in Spokane.
9 June, Western Washington Burglary Alarm Association
10 June, Washington State Bankers Association, they requested the co-ordinator to speak at their semi-annual meeting. The topic will be Bank Alarms, and how to reduce them.
18 June, City of Vancouver Police Department. This City has expressed that unless a substantial reduction in false alarms takes place, they will consider a non-response policy in the future. During the first contact, however, they expressed an eagerness for an alternative solution.
Reported 5/5/98..Seven out of eight departments using FAAP provided alarm information, as well as two departments which are not using the FAAP software. Version 33 was distributed to available departments during the month, including the City of Spokane. This City initiated a registration process, charging a $10 one-time only fee. They fielded numerous telephone calls that questioned the need for registration, and received several negative "letters to the editor," claiming that charging for registration of alarms was the same as the old protection rackets. Something for all co-ordinators to be aware of.
The City of Tukwila is breaking new ground in attempting to use the FAAP billing system. Some issues have been dealt with, and they are looking toward the next version that is a true multiple- user package (we hope).
The second week in May will see the Fall conference of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs in Spokane, Washington. Since I receive numerous requests to discuss and demonstrate the Model States Program, all Chiefs and Sheriffs have been invited to an afternoon executive training session during the conference. A panel consisting of Mike Shanahan, Loc Reader, members of the alarm industry and the Spokane police false alarm unit will participate and be available to answer questions.
A meeting to present the Model States Program to the City of Tacoma [pop 184,000] and Pierce County [pop 400,000] have been requested by the Police Chief and the Sheriff, and will take place early in May. The City of Vancouver alarm unit has been presented with a goal of false alarm reduction by the year 2000 of 50% by their Chief. They have asked for assistance, and a meeting is being scheduled.
The good response from the alarm industry is encouraging, and will hopefully continue.
Reported 4/08/98..On March 10th the first meeting with western Washington alarm dealers was held at the Seattle Yacht Club. Attended by 60+ alarm industry representatives and 14 law enforcement persons, the agenda dealt specifically with the responsibility of the industry in reducing false alarms. Speakers were Ron Haner, Mike Miller, Loc Reader, Mike Shanahan, Ron Waldner, Mike Beckdolt, Sheriff Pederson and John Wurner. Emphasis was placed on the expenditure of resources, and the curtailing of responses to residential alarms by two Washington State counties. Eastern Washington alarm industry representatives met on March 13th at the Spokane Club, attended by 25 dealers and 6 law enforcement representatives, the message was the same. All participants agreed to do their part in this effort. Alarm companies were provided with their first lists of problem accounts at these meetings, and agreed to aggressively pursue these. (See separate report for moree detailed information).
Meetings in Las Vegas introduced the four co-ordinators to the various board members and provided a valuable training day to update information. The possibility to extend the false alarm reduction program for one additional year was discussed, and the positive impact this would have on participating states is clear.
The following Washington State Law Enforcement agencies are participating fully in the model states effort by use of the FAAP software: Cities of Chehalis, Spokane, Federal Way, Puyallup, Pasco , Tukwila and Auburn and Cowlitz County.
Providing worst offender@ information are King County, Snohomish County, Bellevue and Redmond.
There are an additional 15 agencies in the process of changing their existing ordinances, including Bellingham, Mill Creek, Olympia and Arlington.
Meetings scheduled for April include ADI expo in Seattle on April 2nd, Washington Alarm Association on April 14th and the new software installation meeting with participating agencies for beta version 33.
The City of Tukwila is presently the only agency attempting to use the billing system in FAAP. They are in the process of purchasing Acrystal@ software to create a form suitable to their city. The Results are eagerly anticipated.
Reported 3/4/98..The following agencies are currently collecting information by using the FAAP software: Tukwila, Cowlitz County, Chehalis, Auburn, Federal Way, Puyallup, Pasco and Spokane. Other cities providing Aworst offender@ information are King County, Bellevue, Snohomish County, Kent and Olympia.
There are numerous agencies in the State of Washington that have expressed a substantial interest in the program. The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs has scheduled a training session for May at its annual conference to update all of the membership on the program and how it can be of assistance.
Problem areas have been identified in that the duration of the program, as currently scheduled, fails to allow some police agencies to take the needed time in changing their ordinances thru the political process. Several departments have indicated their willingness to be full participants, but require more time to initiate a registration process. The software has proven problematic in some areas. These have been communicated both to Mark Schramm and Stan Martin and are being corrected.
Future meetings are scheduled . On March 6th I will be meeting with the Staff of King County for a software demonstration. I had the opportunity recently to meet with the Sheriff and this meeting is the result. Scheduled for March 10th and March 13th are the first alarm dealer meeting, one on the west side of the state, one on the east side. The Alarm Association has been instrumental in notifying their members and non-members, and I have lined up a group of Law Enforcement Officials for attendance and presentations. The alarm industry has been very co-operative in identifying problems and being preemptive in addressing these issues. In many cases this has been as a result of providing dealers with their Aworst offender@ lists as early as possible. The next anticipated meeting will be in Las Vegas during the week of March 23.
Reported 2/12/98..John Wurner was invited to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs executive board meeting for a discussion of the project and of the status to date. Chief Loc Reader and John Wurner addressed the group and proposed a training session for the spring conference. This proposal was accepted and will consist of a panel including law enforcement, the alarm industry and other interested persons. The emphasis will be on the model states program and its intended consequences. The following day John met with the Board of the Washington State Alarm Association, and this proposal was favorably accepted.
The City of Spokane in January adopted a new ordinance that is effective mid-February that includes all of the recommendations. This was a real win, as the old ordinance placed unreasonable burdens on the alarm industry, and by allowing only one false alarm during 24 months, on alarm customers. John Wurner will be in Spokane during the first week of February to demonstrate the FAAP software. John will also be speaking at a staff meeting of the Kent Police Department, the sole non-Model State Program participant of the Valley-Com agencies.
Reported 11/15/97..
During this month and subsequent to the participant training meeting at the
Criminal Justice Training Commission, all Valley-Com users have expressed
an interest in creating a single ordinance that incorporates all of the
recommendations identified by NBFAA and IACP, upon completion this
ordinance will go to the respective cities for review and adoption by their
legislative bodies. This would be a unique opportunity to test the
efficiency of a 911 system where information is collected for all
participants in the same fashion. The director of Valley-Com is in
agreement to use the software package once agencies are geared up to
receive and deal with the information that is collected.
Four agencies are currently testing the software package for their use, others are waiting to change their ordinances before taking full advantage. Stella McDonald, executive director for the Washington State Alarm Association has been provided with the software and is willing to assist Law Eforcement agencies. She is located in Spokane, and can be of help in that area.
Cowlitz County stopped responding to residential burglary alarms in June 97. After several meetings with the Sheriff, he resumed response as of 10 Oct 97 and joined the false alarm reduction program as an active participant. He has presented his new ordinance to County Commissioners. He was given the go-ahead with the recommendation that he attempt to have the cities in his county follow his example and adopt like ordinances.
Meetings Held in October/November :
A meeting with all Valley-Com users...
Western Washington alarm dealers meeting in Bellevue...
Washington Alarm Association trade show in Spokane on Oct 13 - 15...
WASPC (Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs)...
All participating departments have been asked and have agreed to provide John Wurner
with their "worst offender" lists during the beginning of November. John will
be contacting Alarm Companies and request their co-operation in working
with these accounts.
Reported 09/18/97..
On September 16,1997 A meeting for participating law enforcement agencies was held at the criminal justice training center in Normandy Park, Room C-204. Chiefs and Administrators were briefed on the FAAP - False Alarm Analysis Program and other details of the program.
Reported 09/02/97..
NEW COORDINATOR GETS STARTED - John Wurner, recently retired Chief from Olympia was hired as the Model States Coordinator for the State of Washington and started work on July 21st. John will be working out of an office at WASPC (Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs) in Olympia. He completed his initial training for this position in Dallas,Texas in July. His short term assignment will be to visit with all Police Chiefs participating in the program. John was selected from a host of 15 candidates.
See contact information below for for address, phone, fax & e-mail.
OUR THANKS to the interview/hiring team who expended considerable effort in making this most difficult choice.....
Ron Haner - Washington Alarm
Mike Miller - Moon Security
Chief Ron Waldner - Tukwila PD
Major Tim Johnson - Bellevue PD.
Reported 07/01/97..
New Coordinator is hired - the interview team met with thirteen applicants over the past several weeks. The hiring team was pleased with the number of well qualified people who applied. The new state coordinator should begin work on July 21st pending completion of screening requirements and paperwork. Please check this site again for the name, office location and other information.
Reported 05/09/97..
MEETING HELD AT TUKWILA ...
Several law enforcement agencies met with the alarm industry on May 2nd to discuss a common approach in adopting the model states program. There was agreement to move forward with the program.
INTERVIEW TEAM SELECTED... Interviews will be conducted by a joint alarm industry/law enforcement team. Ron Haner & Mike Miller will represent the alarm industry. Chief Ron Waldner/Tukwila PD & Major Tim Johnson/Bellevue PD will represent the public safety.
READY TO HIRE COORDINATOR - NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS...
The alarm industry announced it was extending the deadline for applications through 5/28/97.
Reported 04/04/97..
READY TO HIRE COORDINATOR... The alarm industry announced it was ready to move forward with hiring a "state coordinator" to help administer the program. Applications will be accepted through 4/28/97. Resumes should be forwarded to the attention of Stan Martin For a partial job description contact Doreen at 972 247-5409. Extensive background check, drug testing and other screening will be required. EOE.
INTERVIEW TEAM... Interviews will be conducted by a joint alarm industry/law enforcement team. Ron Haner & Mike Miller will represent the alarm industry. Chief Loc Reader is in the process of finalizing selections for the chiefs!
Reported 03/08/97..
A meeting was held on March 7, 1997 with law enforcement agencies representing many parts of the state. The alarm industry had representatives from east & west Washington and the president of WBFAA. The program included an overview of the Bellevue/King County "model cities" project; presentation on the entire "model states" program with emphasis on criteria for participation. The "End User caused..." slide presentation was quickly reviewed and the IACP modified video was shown. A copy will be mailed to all who attended. Each agency received a model states reference manual and multiple handouts.
There were no objections to any part of the program. A concern was raised over legality of sharing records with the coordinator. Chief Reader will get a determination prior to program implementation. All agencies will be contacted over the next several weeks for participation confirmation.
We will start the process of soliciting resumes for a state coordinator immediately with a hiring goal of 6-8 weeks. Chief Reader will determine which chiefs will work on the interview team and look for an agency to house the coordinator. Resumes will be accepted through 4/14/97 and should be forwarded to the attention of Stan Martin.
Additionally, Seattle PD explained its unique approach in dealing with false dispatches - highlights:
Reported 02/07/97..
An initial training session for participating law enforcement agencies is planned for March. Contact Chief Loc Reader - Puyallup(see below) for more information. Fifteen agencies have agreed to participate in the "model states" program - see LIST.
Reported 11/25/96..
Update given to alarm dealers and police/public safety departments at the Washington BFAA meeting on November 11, 1996. All reports indicate that the model cities program continues to yield positive results.
Meeting of the Washington Sheriffs & Chiefs was held in Yakima, WA 11/19-22. Stan Martin (alarm industry national coordinator) gave an update/overview on model states at the luncheon on 11/21. Several Chiefs indicated a willingness to participate in the program.
WASHINGTON STATE COORDINATOR
John Wurner
WASPC
PO BOX 826 - Use Zip 98507
2629 12th Court SW
Olympia WA 98502
Phone: 360 586-3221
Fax: 360 586-7030
E-mail: JWurner@orcalink.com
POLICE/PUBLIC SAFETY
Chief Lockheed Reader
V.Pres Wash. Assc. Sheriffs & Police Chiefs
Puyallup Police Department
311 West Pioneer
Puyallup, WA 98371
Ph: 206 841-5440 Fax: 206 770-3346
E-Mail: shrloc@aol.com
ALARM INDUSTRY
Ron Haner
Washington Alarm
1253 S. Jackson Street
Seattle, WA 98144
Ph: 206 328-3288 Fax: 206 322-7214
E-Mail:
Mike Miller
Moon Security Services, Inc.
P.O. Drawer B
Pasco, WA 99302
Ph: 509 545-1881 Fax: 509 547-4348
E-Mail: moonsec@cbvcp.com