OzVision Enlightens COPS

WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J.--COPS Monitoring added OzVision technology to its central-station services, which will allow e-mail notification of alarm events for end users. OzVision won the New Product Showcase award in the monitoring category at the ISC West in March. OzMail, a remote video e-mail service from OzVision, works just like standard e-mail. Users simply double-click and a video window pops up on screen. The average video clip, which can consist of both pre- and post-alarm activity, is only a 200K attachment. It can also be sent to a PDA.

"The possibilities are endless," said COPS president Jim McMullen. "COPS began incorporating OzVision technology into our proprietary central station software because we believe that OzVision has made remote video simple to install for dealers and affordable for end users."

For more information, visit www.ozvisionamerica.com or www.copsmonitoring.com.

Axis Communications Reaches Milestone

CHELMSFORD, Mass.--Axis Communications announced that the company has shipped its 200,000th network-based video product since 1996. Axis created the first network camera in that year. Axis network video products are used in a wide range of industries, including retail, security, surveillance, education, IT, manufacturing, government, transportation and utilities. For more information, visit www.axis.com.

Mirasys Communications Relocates

SAN FRANCISCO--Mirasys Communications Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of the DINA digital video management system, announced the relocation of its U.S. headquarters to downtown San Francisco. The move to a more centralized location with more space was made to facilitate customer service and spur future business growth. The new address is:

Mirasys Communications Inc.
731 Sansome Street, 4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (415) 675-7000
For more information, visit www.mirasys.net.

Vector Security Addresses False Dispatch Epidemic

PITTSBURGH--In an effort to reduce the nationwide epidemic of false dispatches and drain on public resources, John Murphy, president of Vector Security and Ron Walters, the legislative issues manager for Consolidated Alarm Reduction Effort (CARE), hosted a seminar titled, "What Happens When The Police Won't Respond," at the International Mass Retailers Association (IMRA) Loss Prevention Audit Safety (LPAS) conference in March.

"Our goal was to motivate these companies to take immediate steps and confront this problem at a store level by giving them the entire rundown of this fast-emerging dilemma" said Murphy, who also chairs the Central Station Alarm Association's (CSAA) Public Sector Liaison Committee. "It's clear that our industry and its advocacy groups are uniting our individual voices in harmony, but it's up to the installation and monitoring companies to lead the choir, because they will be most affected if we fail to resolve this once and for all. Our response is to work closely with our customers, while others work on the day-to-day needs of legislation and dealing with municipalities. In the end, we'll achieve the greatest level of success if we follow through with our individual roles."

The presentation opened with a geographic reflection of the nonresponse problem, highlighting cities and states that have adopted, or are considering adopting, nonresponse legislation. It discussed the terms relative to nonresponse policies, how they apply to actual commercial settings, and the ultimate affect of fines. The presentation focused on three different approaches undertaken by Salt Lake City, Montgomery County, Md., and Charlotte-Mechlenburg, N.C.

"It became clear to those in attendance that if we (alarm industry and end users) don't effectively manage this problem ourselves, the public agencies will do it", said Ron Walters, who spoke on behalf of the CARE initiative. "A system of fines just didn't do the job, because most chose only to keep paying and paying, instead of rectifying the problem. Municipalities then look toward the approach they know will solve the problem, nonresponse, which is the wrong approach for all parties involved."

John Murphy (left) and Ron Walters of Vector Security.

Attendees learned the effects the proliferation of nonresponse policies will likely have on them. "LPs consider building alarm technologies and systems to be a mature and stable technology, something they didn't need to worry about", said Mr. Murphy. "While that may be true, the negative affect of false dispatches and their tendency to reduce the effectiveness of their first line of defense (the building alarm system) were not clearly understood."

After outlining the effects, the audience was presented with possible ways to reduce the problem, as well as a variety of initiatives the alarm industry is undertaking. The presenters offered a four-tiered approach including alarm providers, end users, manufacturers and public response agencies.

"We want false-dispatch management to become an everyday event for the nation's multi-site retailers, one that is as important as balancing their cash drawers," said Murphy.

The seminar was designed to help loss prevention executives better understand the immediacy of the problem, according to Michael Grady, the senior vice president of Vector Security. "The false dispatch epidemic is still flying under the multi-site retailers' radar screens. Our fear is by the time they recognize it, the problem will have grown out of control, affecting police responses in many additional major markets."

"It's clear that dishonest employees and shoplifters do the most damage inside, so LPs dedicate a lot of attention and budget to reduce shrinkage inside their stores," Grady added. "But what will happen when the effectiveness of their building alarm system is impacted by a lack of police response? That's a reality most are unprepared for."

Vector's presentation included a handout illustrating the positions of eight industry advocacy groups that are influencing the development of false-alarm legislation nationwide. "To coin a familiar phrase, 'you can't know the players without a scorecard' " Grady said. "I hope this information creates a bridge between the nation's largest multi-site retailers and the groups they should know more about. Our industry can benefit greatly from delivering this message directly to those who can make the biggest positive impact."

For more information about this seminar or to obtain a copy of the information, contact David Merrick, marketing director of Vector Security, at (800) 222-6565, ext. 3144, or e-mail dlmerrick@vectorsecurity.com.