Public Safety Updates

• Smart devices sending flurry of errant 9-1-1 calls
  5.1.24 – WRC – Washington DC – Dispatchers around the Washington, D.C. area are reporting accidental 9-1-1 calls from iPhones and other Apple devices that can be triggered by dropping the device. Because the devices can report genuine emergencies, dispatchers will send first responders to the scene if they cannot determine if the call is fake.

Featured Articles

• Monitoring Matters: Alarm Industry Innovation Needed Now More Than Ever
  5.1.24 – SSI – Morgan Hertel – The alarm industry is stuck in a time warp compared to some others across the technology landscape. It’s time to innovate.
• Parks Associates: 30% of internet households own either a smart camera or a smart video doorbell
  5.1.24 – SIW – The new consumer study featured at the 28th annual CONNECTIONS Conference highlights connected home trends.
• Survey: U.S. Business and Consumers Plan to Increase Tech Spending
  5.2.24 – TV Tech – A new survey indicates that U.S. businesses and consumers had an overall positive attitude towards their technology spending plans in the first quarter of 2024, the second consecutive quarter of positive intent after more than a year of negative results.

Business Tips

• From Artificial Intelligence to Apps: What’s Next for the Security Industry?
  5.3.24 – SSI – Greg Simmons – Future-proof your business by staying ahead of these four emerging trends that are shaping the security industry.
• Between Us Pros: Getting Customers to Drink Your Kool-Aid
  5.2.24 – SSI – Scott Goldfine – The journey from longtime media member to marketing leader has been equal parts exciting, fascinating and frustrating.
• SimplSafe rolls out live guard protection for outside threats
  4.30.24 – SIW – Smart-home security system maker SimpliSafe is rolling out an expansion of its live guard protection program by adding technology to stop crime outside the home.
• G-MAK Fog Machine and Home Edition
  5.1.24 – G-MAK – SIW – With its smart integration capabilities and user-friendly interface, the Home Edition offers flexible protection tailored to individual needs, providing homeowners with peace …
• Employees are your biggest cybersecurity threat
  5.3.24 – SIW – Dennis Scimeca – IT departments can update software, but they can’t patch people.
• New Congressional Bill to explore using AI to secure U.S. border
  4.29.24 – SIW – Hanna Kang – San Gabriel Valley Tribune, West Covina, Calif. (TNS) – The DHS bill looks into “new, innovative and disruptive” technologies to integrate into border security operations, including AI.

Life Safety

• CO: Northern Colorado family saved by smoke detectors recently …
  5.2.24 – CBS News – A Northern Colorado family says they are fortunate to all be alive after an overnight fire nearly trapped them while they were sleeping. The Lopez family’s home in the northern part of Fort Collins recently burned down, but smoke alarms helped alert them before they were trapped.
• OR: Smoke alarm awakens NE Bend residents, who catch fire …
  5.1.24 – KTVZ- The fire was determined to have been caused by ashes removed from a woodstove on Tuesday and placed in a combustible container on the home’s exterior, he said. Because the smoke alarm awakened them, the fire was caught early and damage was limited, with no injuries, Kamperman said.

Crime

• AZ: Police ask for public’s help to find Mesa burglary suspect
  5.4.24 – MESA, AZ (AZFamily) – Police say home surveillance video shows a burglar caught red-handed. A stranger broke into a couple’s Mesa apartment …
• AZ: Surprise police seek ‘Croc bandit’ for breaking doors …
  5.4.24 – MSN – Surprise police search for a man nicknamed ‘the Croc bandit’ after he damaged around eight businesses while wearing a pair of the clog style ..
• FL: Central Florida jewelry store owner outsmarts thief, leaving …
  5.1.24 – Lake Mary, Fla. (WSVN) – A Central Florida jewelry store owner thwarted a burglary attempt, resulting in the suspect walking away with nothing. The incident unfolded as Casa Leon Jewelers in Lake Mary when owner Rene Barrios noticed suspicious activity on his security cameras.
• NJ: Home Burglars Scared Off By Alarms In Basking Ridge
  5.1.24 – Patch – Basking Ridge, NJ – Two home burglaries in Bernards Township were prevented after a homeowner’s alarm sounds, according to the latest police blotter. On April 6 at around 8:44 p.m., officers received notification of a burglar activation at a Squire Court home.
• TN: Serial store thief arrested after exit alarm tips officers, police say
  5.3.24 – Fox 13 Memphis – While searching, a store’s exit alarm was activated: officers watched a store video that showed the man leaving the store, MPD said. The man was found behind a nearby dumpster, police said, and in possession of store merchandise. Rickey Benson, 49, was charged with burglary and theft of property – $1,000 or less.

NESA is a federation of state associations established to serve and promote the electronic systems industry at the direction of, and through its affiliated state associations. Seven state associations are part of NESA – Arkansas Security Alarm Association (ASAA), Kansas Electronic Security Association (KESA), Louisiana Life Safety & Security Association (LLSSA), Maryland Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (MDBFAA), Mississippi Security Association (MSA), Oklahoma Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (OKBFAA) and Texas Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (TBFAA). For more info visit www.nesaus.org.