Another video clip from AreYouPayingEnough.com talking about our Kerrisdale showroom…

We had another full showroom last night for our ‘Preventing Burglary’ seminar. We’ve received a lot of great feedback from people about the seminar…. but up until today, we’ve never had a video testimonial from someone who attended.

Ian Watt is a Vancouver Realtor focused on the Downtown Condo market who has become famous for his daily video blog posts that he films while driving around Vancouver. Ian attended last week’s seminar and we’re glad that he had good things to say about us (because as anyone who has watched any of Ian’s videos will attest, we’re pretty sure that he’d happily film a video saying he hated it if he felt that way).

Provident Security Seminar Keeping Vancouver Townhouse Owners Safe from Ian Watt Vancouver Condo on Vimeo.

Click below to watch a short clip where I describe how easy it is to add flood detection to your alarm system.

As a part of the City of Vancouver’s Civil City Initiative, more than $800,000 has been (controversially) allocated for expansion of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Area (DVBIA) Downtown Ambassador program. Initially, the idea was to offer an incentive for other city BIA’s (such as Gastown, Robson Street, Chinatown, Davie Village, etc.) to use the Downtown Ambassadors and for those BIA’s to be eligible to receive city funding to ‘top up’ any BIA money spent on the program.

The initial version of the policy drafted by City Council only allowed for BIA’s to be eligible for funding if they used the Downtown Ambassadors (rather than any existing, or alternate, security provider). Given that the DVBIA also charges an annual ‘licensing’ fee to any other BIA as well as management fees, the program effectively put a non-profit business association into the security business.

There are so many conflicts of interest, operational and ethical problems with that particular set-up, it’s hard to know where to start.

A subsequent revision of the program expanded the scope so that any business association in the city could apply for money for either an ‘Ambassador’ program or ‘Ambassador-like’ program expansion. There was a fairly thorough vetting process designed to ensure that these other programs met many specific criteria (such as human rights training) before they could be ‘approved’ for funding. Kerrisdale’s existing security program falls into the category of ‘Ambassador-like’.

As a result, The Kerrisdale Business Association, like many other BIA’s in the city, applied to receive money to expand the existing Kerrisdale security program to add approximately three additional day shifts per week. On September 16th Kerrisdale was approved.

Provident has been providing security for the Kerrisdale Business Association (KBA) since 1997… we were originally hired to address a major burglary problem along West 41st Avenue. Working closely with the merchants and KBA, we dramatically reduced the number of burglaries almost immediately. Since that time, the scope of the security program in Kerrisdale has expanded to include daytime patrols as well to address issues like shoplifting, aggressive panhandling and graffiti. There is no question that the security program works well and has provided tremendous value.

KBA members pay 100% of the cost of the security program, and have since 1997.

To the best of my knowledge, only Chinatown and Gastown have had community security programs in place longer. Since then, most BIA’s in the city have since initiated similar patrol programs… many of which sent delegates to Kerrisdale to learn about the specific ways that we’ve been able to achieve such significant results… one of which was the DVBIA.

Following the lead of many other downtown business associations, the DVBIA opted to create their own branded security program … the Downtown Ambassadors.

The increased security will be good for the KBA and it provides additional value for KBA members as well as the Kerrisdale community.

Without question, if any BIA in the city deserves to be eligible for city funding for security, it’s Kerrisdale. Kerrisdale merchants have spent well over $1 million dollars on security services over the past decade and should be first in line for any financial support from the city. Obviously, Provident also stands to benefit financially from this program.

This is not how taxpayer’s money should be spent…

The City is in a unique position in that it can do what no BIA, or other private business in Vancouver, can do… the City can hire Police Officers. They should.

Rather than funding private security guards, the City should spend money dedicating VPD Constables to specific neighbourhoods.

There is no question that you can hire more security guards than police officers for the same amount of money… but it is a question of impact.

In the case of Kerrisdale, there is one full-time VPD Constable shared between Kerrisdale, Oakridge and Marpole… Cst. Ray Gardner.

The impact this one Community Policing Constable, despite being split between the three areas, has had in our neighbourhood is profound. Beyond the consistent and visible Police presence on the street, it enhances our security program. It gives our team an individual person to liaise with and serves to make the investment that the KBA has made in security have much greater impact. Its great for us, our clients, the neighbourhood and the Police themselves.

We are on patrol in the neighbourhood 24 hours a day… anytime we encounter an urgent situation that requires immediate Police response, we call 911. For the vast majority of other issues where Police attendance would be very helpful, we call the Community Policing Centre, or Cst. Gardner, directly.

Because he has the mandate, interest, and time to focus on our neighbourhood, we receive follow-up and assistance that other patrol Constables are simply too busy to be able to provide.

Whether it is responding to calls from merchants regarding shoplifters, following up with youth caught vandalizing property or tagging, educating merchants or being able to spend enough time to get to the bottom of a ladder theft… community policing really works. Rather than having to wait for a situation to escalate to the point where Police response is the only option, we can work with Cst. Gardner to intervene much earlier in the process … allowing both Provident and the VPD to be much more proactive.

If the city wants to get maximum value for the dollars that they are spending to make Vancouver a safer and more ‘civil’ city, it should focus on spending the money in a way that provides unique and maximum value.

There is no question in my mind that having the KOM Community Policing Centre, and specifically Cst, Ray Gardner, has allowed Provident to be much more effective for the KBA.

If there is $800,000.00 to spend, assigning all of it to additional Constables who would be dedicated to provide service to specific neighbourhoods would have a much more profound impact. It would do a lot of things that BIA’s might be surprised by… like making the money that they are already spending on private security much more effective.

UK band ‘The Get Out Clause‘ were looking for a creative way to film their new video… so, rather than doing their own filming, they had the government do it for them, for free.

They set-up in front of more than 80 municipal CCTV cameras (including on a few buses) in Manchester and then, through the Freedom of Information Act, requested the video footage be sent to them.

They then pasted it all together to make a complete video.

This is the first I’ve ever heard of this being done… which is great for The Get Out Clause… but I wonder how many more requests will be coming into the Freedom of Information office now by bands and other groups trying to copy the idea?

I found out about this via Sam Pfeifle’s blog, who got it from Shawn Flaugher (two great security blogs).

On April 1st, Security Sales & Integration Magazine hosted the 13th Annual SAMMY Awards at the International Security Conference in Las Vegas.

Provident won the SAMMY for Best Website.

This was the 6th time that Provident has been nominated, and the 2nd time that we have won a SAMMY. Provident was one of only two Canadian security companies to be awarded.

Our website was designed by Jeff Joseph and took many months of design, planning and filming. We were so pleased with Jeff that we hired him on full-time to join our web development team… where he is working hard along with Ryan and Jerry to ensure that Provident’s IT systems and web development are always getting better.

Jeff did an incredible job (and still is) on the site and we are very proud to have him on the team. Jeff is standing in the middle of the back row in the picture on the right.

I received a cease & desist letter the other day from Shaw (click on the image to the left for a bigger version)… they are upset with me for ‘unauthorized use of’ the Shaw Digital Phone trademark as well as using an image from their website.

The specific posts that they are upset about are …

Shaw Digital Phone and Alarms

Shaw Digital Telephone Services Affect on Alarms

To address their concerns, I have removed the image from the one post and added a (TM) mark to every instance where I refer to ‘Shaw Digital Phone’ (TM) throughout the blog. I’ve also added a note at the bottom of each post indicating that it is a registered trademark of Shaw Communications Inc.

I think that it is very telling that their response to my posts, in which I take issue with what I believe to be a significant misrepresentation of the negative impact that their service can have on alarm systems, is simply to tell me to stop using their logo and trademark. I would have thought that the more important issue would have been to address the concerns that I raised about their service and how it can impact a client’s alarm. I guess that wasn’t as important to them.

In any event, I certainly didn’t intend to infringe on their trademark… and trust that the changes that I have made will make it abundantly clear to the world that Shaw owns the registered trademark ‘Shaw Digital Phone‘. It’s all theirs. I have nothing to do with it.

With respect to the point that I was making, here is what I wrote on the topic back in 2006… (or click on the links above to read the post in its entirety)

After speaking with several very confused clients, three different Shaw installers (who each had different takes on the “facts”), a myriad of Shaw managers, several tests of our own and discussions with the Vice President of Marketing for Honeywell (the world’s largest manufacturer of alarm equipment)… here is what we know to be true about Shaw Digital Phone (TM) service as it relates to your alarm:

1. Most, but not all, alarm systems can communicate through Shaw’s network;

2. Different systems seem to send the data to us at very different speeds (in a few cases it took almost two full minutes longer than expected to receive the ‘primary’ alarm signals at sites with Shaw);

3. Most importantly, NEITHER SHAW NOR A SINGLE ALARM EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER will guarantee that all alarm signals will be transmitted correctly or completely

What does this mean?

With the absence of a written guarantee from either the company whose network over which the communication occurs (Shaw) or any of the major alarm equipment manufacturers (Honeywell, DSC, GE) Provident recommends the following:

1. Maintain an analog phone line through Telus (or your local traditional telephone company) (although this solution would eliminate any ‘value’ of looking to VoIP in the first place); or

2. Have Provident install a back-up method of monitoring your alarm (either cellular or internet monitoring is available and supported through our monitoring station in Kerrisdale) * see below re: BLINK

If you do not want to do either of the above, we will require all clients who choose to switch to Shaw to sign an addendum to their contract indicating that they understand that there is no guarantee that we will receive an alarm signal from their premises.

Since writing that post, Provident now offers BLINK mesh radio monitoring. Using BLINK makes the entire monitoring over VoIP issue irrelevant… not only does BLINK send alarm signals in under 2 seconds (as opposed to up to 40 seconds over an analog telephone line or several minutes using Shaw Digital Phone (TM) or other VoIP service), BLINK is much more secure.

For the hundreds of our Vancouver clients who are now using BLINK, their telephone line is used as the back-up communication method rather than the primary. This means that our concerns about how much slower alarm signals are received using Shaw Digital Phone (TM) are not nearly as important… BLINK gets the signal to us almost instantly every time.

Our caution to clients remains the same in 2008… if you are interested in switching your Telus analog line over to Shaw, or any other VoIP provider, you should not rely on it exclusively for alarm signal transmission. My opinions about how Shaw has chosen to market this service are also the same.

In an article in today’s Vancouver Sun, Tom Stamakakis, President of the Vancouver Police Union, is quoted saying that the recent formation of the Violence Suppression Team is having a negative impact on response times to other calls.

Last February, the VPD released their Patrol Deployment Study which indicated that Vancouver averaged 13 minute response for Priority One calls… the slowest in Canada.

The VPD Union argues that it is a lack of Officers that has caused these slow, and dangerous, numbers.

I was asked to speak about this issue on the Bill Good Show the day after the report came out. My suggestion has always been that the Police stop responding to burglar alarms. Police response to burglar alarms is one of the most ineffective uses of their time, and is still allowed to consume a significant portion of it every year.

I took some heat from within the security industry when I referred to the security industry as a ‘parasite on the police‘ on the show. The point being that the alarm industry makes money from monitoring alarms that rely on Police response. The more alarms, the greater the number of dispatches each year for the Police. In a nutshell, alarm companies make money from helping to make a problem for the Police worse.

The fact remains that 98% of alarms are false… expecting the Police to provide response to private alarms is a waste of time and money in the best case scenario.

In situations like this, where there are even fewer Patrol Officers on the street as a result of the creation of special task forces, such as the Violence Suppression Team, the problem only gets worse.

As policing becomes more sophisticated and specialized, and the need for these types of task forces and special teams increases, we either need to continuously hire new Police Officers (which doesn’t seem to be an option) or take a very hard look at what functions the Police are currently providing that do not provide any value…. and get rid of them.

I can not think of a more wasteful expenditure of taxpayers money than funding Police response to private alarms.

–

other posts on this topic:

Here is a link to a post talking about LAPD Chief Bratton referring to the alarm industry as an “unnecessary burden”.

Here’s a post that references another time that I was on the Bill Good Show, this time with a representative of Alarmforce. During this segment, we argued about the value of an alarm without immediate response… the title of the post “Provident vs. Alarmforce on CKNW” is a fitting one.

Provident became an unintentional part of national and local media reports of the Shaughnessy shooting on Saturday night when one of our lawn signs was featured prominently in every photo and newscast. The picture to the left was not only on the cover of the Province but in the Sun, Globe & Mail and dozens of other Canadian papers.

As a result, we have fielded many media inquiries about the security services that they assumed we were providing at the home. As we explained to the Police, and the media, the sign is actually stolen. We have never provided service at that address… although we do look after most of the neighbours.

Every year, we receive a few dozen calls from clients saying that their lawn sign has been stolen from their front yard. Typically, we only learn where they have been taken when we get a call from someone complaining that their neighbour’s alarm has been ‘ringing for an hour’ and that our sign is out front. We always go and check it out, and then explain to the caller that the house is not a client and that we are not monitoring the alarm.

In a way, we are flattered that if someone is going to steal a lawn sign to put in front of their home, they choose ours… but this is the first time that one of our stolen signs has become part of a murder scene.

In terms of the incident itself, we fielded more than a dozen calls from neighbours who had heard the shots, inquiring if we knew what was going on. By Sunday morning, the calls were mostly people inquiring about increasing their own home security. The most common questions were about camera systems.

Click here for a link to a post I wrote about CCTV systems not being a deterrent.

In my role as the Learning Chair for the Vancouver chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization (formerly YEO), I am helping to organize an event this Monday, October 15th at the Bourbon in Gastown.

Part of the event includes a private performance by EMI recording artist Wil. Wil is a bit of a cross between Dave Matthews, Tom Petty, Shawn Mullins with some alt. country thrown in. Sort of. He puts on an amazing live show and is well worth the trip downtown. The Bourbon is definitely one of Vancouver’s last great live music bars… especially for an act like Wil.

Here is a clip of Wil performing live.

Wil-Honey Pie

Tickets to the Wil show are $20.00 each. We have a few dozen tickets left, so if you are interested in checking out the show, please send me an email and I will ensure that you get tickets before Monday.

The show will start at 9:00pm at the Bourbon, which is at 50 West Cordova Street (between Carrall and Abbot)

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