By Steve Keefer, Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC)
I spent most of my professional life in law enforcement. For more than two decades, I served with the Sparks Police Department in Nevada, starting as a patrol officer and eventually working my way through every rank to become Chief of Police.
When you spend years responding to calls, managing officers, and collaborating with community leaders, you develop a practical understanding of what truly strengthens public safety. The most valuable tools are not always the most complicated ones. Often, they involve information sharing, collaboration, and a willingness to solve problems together.
That perspective led me to the Security Industry Alarm Coalition.
Throughout my career in policing, alarm systems were a constant part of daily operations. Officers responded to thousands of alarm calls each year, including burglar alarms, commercial alarms, and residential systems designed to protect homes and businesses. These systems play a significant role in deterring crime and protecting property.
Like many tools used in public safety, they also come with operational challenges.
One of the most persistent issues for law enforcement agencies is false alarms. Police leaders around the world understand the impact they can have. When officers are dispatched to alarms that turn out to be accidental or unnecessary, valuable time and resources are diverted from other calls for service.
To address the issue, cities experimented with permit systems, fines, verification requirements, and other approaches. Often, what was missing was reliable data and proven best practices that could guide policy decisions.
During my time as a police chief, I began to see that there was a better way to approach the issue through collaboration between law enforcement and the alarm industry.
That was when I first became aware of the work being done by Security Industry Alarm Coalition, which had been building something extremely valuable for public safety leaders: credible research, practical policy guidance, and real-world case studies designed to help communities reduce false alarms while preserving the police response communities valued and expected.
Instead of treating the issue as a conflict between police agencies and the alarm industry, SIAC focused on bringing both sides together around evidence-based solutions.
Law enforcement leaders do not need rhetoric. They need facts. They need to understand what has worked in other cities and what has not. SIAC provided this information through research into alarm management practices, model ordinance recommendations, and examples from communities that had successfully reduced false alarm rates.
I had spent my entire professional life working to improve safety in the communities I served. Walking away from that mission entirely never felt like the right path. Joining SIAC gave me the opportunity to continue that work from a different vantage point. After retiring from the Sparks Police Department, I joined SIAC as the National Law Enforcement Liaison and later became Deputy Executive Director before stepping into the role of Executive Director.
One of the most rewarding aspects of this work is meeting with police chiefs, sheriffs, city officials, and security professionals across the country. Despite differences in geography or population size, most communities face similar issues. They want effective security systems that protect residents and businesses. They want policies that minimize unnecessary dispatches as well as constructive partnerships between public safety agencies and the private sector.
SIAC helps provide the framework for those partnerships.
A unique strength of SIAC is its long-standing relationships with national and state law enforcement organizations. Because of these relationships, the security industry is often able to engage directly with decision makers, many of whom already know and trust SIAC.
These relationships include organizations such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheriffs’ Association, along with numerous state and regional police leadership organizations. That access is important. It helps ensure that discussions about alarm management policies are informed by data, operational experience, and collaboration rather than assumptions or misconceptions.
The approach that SIAC has developed in the United States can also serve as a model for other regions of the world. Effective cooperation between the electronic security industry and law enforcement agencies benefits both sides and strengthens public safety. As electronic security technologies continue to expand globally, building these kinds of partnerships will become even more important.
Over the years, SIAC has also been at the forefront of promoting improvements that have significantly increased alarm system reliability.
One of the most successful examples is Enhanced Call Confirmation. By requiring monitoring centers to make multiple attempts to contact alarm users before requesting police dispatch, communities have been able to significantly reduce unnecessary alarm responses while still ensuring that legitimate emergencies receive attention.
Advances in system design, improved monitoring procedures, and better user education have also contributed to lower false alarm rates and greater system dependability.
If the past decade brought important progress, the decade ahead may bring even more dramatic change. We are entering a period of rapid technological innovation that will reshape both the security industry and public safety operations.
Artificial intelligence is beginning to play a role in modern security systems. AI-assisted analytics can help identify genuine threats while filtering out routine activity that once triggered alarms. Video verification is becoming more sophisticated and more affordable, allowing monitoring centers to provide law enforcement with visual confirmation of potential incidents. This information can help agencies prioritize calls and deploy resources more effectively.
Drone technology is another emerging development that could influence the future of security and emergency response. In some communities, drones are already being deployed to provide rapid aerial assessments of incidents, improving situational awareness for first responders.
These innovations will create tremendous opportunities and new challenges. Law enforcement agencies will need to determine how emerging technologies fit within their operational frameworks. At the same time, the security industry must ensure that new technologies are implemented responsibly and reliably.
This is where SIAC’s role remains critically important.
For decades, Security Industry Alarm Coalition has served as a trusted resource for law enforcement leaders seeking objective information about alarm management and security technology. That mission will continue as new tools and capabilities reshape the landscape.
Our goal is not simply to advocate for the alarm industry. Our goal is to help communities make informed decisions that enhance public safety while maintaining effective partnerships between the public and private sectors.
From my perspective as a former police chief, that collaborative approach remains the most effective path forward.
Technology will continue to evolve, but the mission remains the same: helping communities become safer places to live and work.
Steve Keefer is the Executive Director for the Security Industry Alarm Coalition, a non-profit organization that works as a liaison between first responding agencies and the security industry to optimize alarm dispatch management. After a successful career in law enforcement, Keefer retired after rising through the ranks to become Chief of Police in Sparks, Nevada. Following his retirement in 2013, he joined SIAC, where he served as the West Coast National Law Enforcement Liaison. Keefer is a graduate of St. John’s University and the FBI National Academy.
Internal Links URLs
https://security.world/false-alarm-reduction
External Links URLs
https://www.siacinc.org
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is SIAC?
The Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) is a nonprofit that works with law enforcement and the security industry to improve alarm management and reduce false alarms.
2. Why are false alarms a concern for law enforcement?
They consume valuable police resources and divert attention from real emergencies.
3. What is Enhanced Call Confirmation?
It is a process where monitoring centers verify alarms through multiple contact attempts before requesting police dispatch.
4. How is technology improving alarm systems?
Technologies like AI analytics, video verification, and drones are helping reduce false alarms and improve response efficiency.
5. Why are partnerships important in public safety?
Collaboration between law enforcement and the security industry leads to better policies, improved efficiency, and safer communities.