Lincolnite

Well, if you tighten the penalties for false alarms, it becomes easier for the security company to call the police first.

That doesn’t excuse the slow reactions, but it takes a big, time-consuming step out of the middle.

I must be having a slow brain day because I don’t understand how increasing penalties for false alarms will make security companies call the police faster. Wouldn’t it make them more likely to react more cautiously, and thus make the call later? Ditto for business owners who don’t have security officers and have to investigate on their own.

Of course, the Scheel’s example adds the complication of the security officers calling the store manager first. That seems like a fault in the level of empowerment given to the security company in their contract with the store. If you trust a security firm with protecting your business, surely you should also trust them to know when to call the police.

How about owners have to hold a sign up shaming them for causing so many false alarms?

Why are there so many false alarms?  Is it employees goofing up or wind blowing.  Kind of shocked at the number of falsies.  There is obviously a market for quality security systems so the systems would be pretty good you would think.

I used to work for a place that had false alarms repeatedly during the year. We had motion sensors in a warehouse area, and we had one of those huge canvas things that holds styrofoam peanuts that was hanging from the ceiling from one hook. Depending on how full the warehouse was, when the heating or cooling system would turn on, the draft would spin the canvas thing around and it would set off the motion sensors. I made many trips there in the middle of the night to greet the police and walk through and make sure things were okay. We eventually got a letter warning that we’d be fined for subsequent falsies.

I can ceratinly relate to the fact that there can be too many false alarms.  However, it’s a HUGE difference if the Joe Blow Stereo or Sandwich Shop has an alarm.  As opposed to a much larger business such as Scheels.  Seems to me that there would be a greater threat to the general public with ANY theft of ANY weapons from Scheels.  They do carry crossbows, bow and arrows too.  I would think that the priority would be to respond and tolerate the possiblity of a false alarm at the larger store.  If a smaller business has REPEATED alarms then there is certainly a problem.  But with someplace that carries weapons of ANY sort isn’t it better to err on the side of safety???

And to follow up on hbrogan’s remark - maybe it’s not necessarily just the size of the store, but what they sell. I’d be less concerned with someone taking a bunch of trousers from Dillard’s in the middle of the night than 80 firearms being out on the street. Selling guns should move a store to number one on the “do not pass go, just call the police” security list.

That’s EXACTLY the point I was trying to make.  I would MUCH rather see a bunch of cruisers responding to Scheels, Acher Arms or any of the other reseller of arms and have it be a false alarm than to see them wait and then regret calling the police.  As in the current Scheels problem.  If I was in management at Scheels I believe I wold be looking at the security firm AND management to see WHO dropped the ball.  And then take the necessary action.