Sonitrol Evansville

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The Three a.m. Wake-up Call

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It’s three a.m. You are sound asleep, dreaming about that beach vacation you’re planning. Your toes are in the sand, the waves are gently lapping against the shore, when all of a sudden, an earthquake hits! Wait, it’s not an earthquake. It’s your cellphone buzzing across your nightstand. Why is my phone ringing at three a.m.? I was having the best dream!

No one wants to get that call. If you are a Sonitrol customer, you could be on the receiving end of one of those calls from our Central Station operators. Why? Has there been a break-in at your business? Maybe not. Often times, it’s not your usual suspect. A criminal hasn’t triggered the alarm at your facility. The culprit? An unsecured door, blown open by a summer storm or a gust of wind. Yep. A door.

But doors are great, right? They help protect the people who should be there and keep the noise, weather, unauthorized people, and zombies out. And with a Sonitrol security system at your business or residence, you’ve really added protection to your property, valuables, and loved ones. We’ve installed door contacts so that when your system is armed and a door is opened, our monitoring team will dispatch police.

How do the door contacts work?

A door contact has two components. First, there is the switch part that is attached to the doorframe. It can be wirelessly powered with a battery or wired directly to the security panel. The second part of the contact is a magnet. The two components need to meet up when the door is closed to let the control panel know that the door is shut. The standard allowable gap between the contact and magnet before it goes into alarm is ¾ of an inch. Once the magnet is farther than ¾ of an inch, the alarm point is considered open, and if the system is armed, our operators will be notified.

So how could a door cause a false alarm?

Sometimes, buildings settle, doors become misaligned, screws in hinges become loose, and doors and doorframes swell and shrink with changing seasons. It may sound as unlikely as a zombie knocking down your door, but it’s a common cause of false alarms.

So, what can you do?

  • Make sure all of your doors close properly. Can you pull the door open without turning the doorknob? Is there play in the door? When you pull on the handle, is it tight? Or does it wiggle and move?
  • Check the door hinges. The hinges should be checked to make sure screws have not loosened and the strike plate on the frame is installed properly and not damaged. Make sure the latch on the door is contacting the strike plate on the doorframe.
  • Check the door contact on occasion. Over time, the contact and the magnet can become misaligned or components can become damaged. Are both components of the door contact mounted properly and meeting when the door is closed?

Checking to make sure your doors are closed and secure and fixing older doors will help ensure that your building is protected when you arm the security system. It can increase police safety, too. Police safety? You bet. Avoiding these false alarms keeps our police from rushing across town when it isn’t necessary. On a windy night, or when a summer storm might be rolling in, that extra few minutes to check your doors could help make sure you enjoy those beach vacation dreams and don’t get a three a.m. wake-up call!

peaceful sleep

Protect your business day or night!

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Often times, when people think of business security systems, they only consider how an alarm will protect their location after hours. But let’s look at how a verified alarm system, specifically, Sonitrol’s TotalGuard™ alarm, can offer your company, or even your school, protection during your daytime business hours.

You may be wondering…What is TotalGuard™? This is an ALL-IN-ONE intrusion detection solution that includes impact-activated audio, glass break analytics, motion detection and video verification. The TotalGuard™ system has wireless connectivity and complete volumetric intrusion detection. Once armed, which can be done via your Sonitrol Mobile app, the alarm works around the clock to protect your business.

So how can it help you during daytime business hours when it isn’t even armed? When a TotalGuard™ alarm is paired with our unique panic button, our Central Station operators will have instant access to live video and audio feed the moment you press your panic button. A variety of business settings might have need for this sort of set-up, such as gas stations, banks, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores. Here are a few scenarios where this could benefit your company during regular business hours:

  • Unruly individuals. From customers losing tempers to belligerent individuals acting aggressively to your cashier or staff at a gas station or small business shop, in the security business, we’ve seen it all. Sometimes, employees find themselves in a situation that has intensified in an instant, and for the safety of customers and themselves, they need the police there right away. Once they press the panic button, our Central Station operators will see live video and hear live audio feed from the TotalGuard™ system, while simultaneously dispatching police. Our team will give the police details as to what is happening in your business.
  • Active threats. Gas stations, fast food restaurants, convenience stores, jewelry stores, pawn shops, and banks jump to mind as potential targets for hold-ups or active threats. While we hope it never happens, being prepared with a TotalGuard™ alarm and panic button could save lives by providing responding law enforcement with critical information. In the terrible event of a hold-up, a bank teller, for example, can press the panic button and instantly activate our TotalGuard™ camera to allow our operators to relay real time information with live video and audio feed to police as they race to the scene.
  • School threats. By adding a TotalGuard™ camera and panic button to your school office, your front desk staff can alert us the moment something goes wrong, with the press of a button. The instant your school panic button is pressed our Central Station operators will notify police while seeing, recording, and sharing real-time details with law enforcement. This extra level of security can help police secure your campus and protect your students and staff during any school threat.

TotalGuard™ is an affordable camera alarm solution, turned on and off from your Sonitrol Mobile app. Not only will TotalGuard™ provide all-inclusive verified protection for your business after hours, paired with our panic button, it gives you dependable emergency assistance for your employees, customers, students, and company when you’re open for business. For a free consultation with our security professionals and to hear about our zero-down TotalGuard™ installation special, contact us at (800) 444-1191.

 

TG STRIP MALL

National Police Week – Thank You!

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It’s National Police Week, and we would like to say thank you to our men and women in blue for your dedication to serve and protect our communities. Sonitrol has been a proud supporter of police since our founding in the early 1960s. In fact, our story began with the partnership of an inventor and a police officer. Over fifty years ago, an Indiana innovator by the name of Robert Baxter teamed up with a fellow Hoosier and local police officer, Al Cronk. Using Baxter’s latest invention, the audio sensor, the pair created a security company that could reduce false alarms for police and increase criminal apprehensions.

This partnership had incredible results:

  1. We reduce false alarms for police. Conventional alarms have up to a 98% false alarm rate because, unlike Sonitrol, they can’t verify that a break-in is actually occurring. While the conventional systems rely on door and window contacts alone to detect intrusion, Sonitrol also uses highly sensitive audio sensors that can detect abnormal sounds in and around your building. With our patented audio intrusion detection, our 24/7 on-call operators begin listening the instant an intruder is attempting to enter a facility and can determine if a crime is occurring. We don’t have to waste the time of local police by sending them to investigate every time the air conditioning kicks on and causes a curtain or the blinds to rustle and trips a motion detector like other alarms. We only dispatch police in the event of a real break-in.
  2. We have a high apprehension rate. Unlike traditional alarm companies, when a burglar actually breaks-in through a window, rooftop access, or door, our alarm is silent, so the criminal won’t even realize we have dispatched police and that they are on the way. Sonitrol has assisted law enforcement in apprehending over 179,698 criminals to date.
  3. Our system creates increased safety for police. Because our system is verified, we won’t dispatch the police unless we are sure there is a real break-in. Other alarm companies notify the police for countless false alarms due to their inability to verify alarms, and this sends police racing across town at high speeds, putting them in danger, for absolutely no reason. Also, when a real break-in is occurring, our operators listen to every second of audio and even watch live feed if video verification has been installed, and in turn, they relay critical details to the police who are being dispatched. Providing the police with this essential information better prepares them for what they can expect as they head to the scene of the break-in.
  4. We are a proud supporter of our local law enforcement. We are so thankful for being able to participate in local police fundraisers and events, from the EPD Foundation SWAT Challenge to the EPD Foundation Policeman’s Ball. We are especially fond of our K-9 Officer, Doc, who we donated to the EPD in 2016. He is even named after Sonitrol of Evansville’s own founder, “Doc”, Dr. William Standring. K-9 Doc has already assisted his trainer, EPD Sergeant John Montgomery, in apprehending criminals!
National Police Week_May 11-17 2019

National Police Week May 11-17, 2019

Our unique history aside, Sonitrol looks forward to the future, and we can’t wait to see how our relationship with law enforcement continues to grow. We wouldn’t be here today without police, and we are so thankful for all they sacrifice to make our communities safe. If you see a police officer, be sure to thank them. From all of us at Sonitrol, thank you to our police for your service!

 

 

Preventing break-ins on summer break…

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The countdown is here, and sure enough, in just a few short weeks, students, and teachers alike, will be bursting through school doors across the country, proclaiming three months of freedom. And while the students are away, will the burglars play? Here are a few quick tips to secure your school and prevent a break-in:

  • Use outdoor lights. Make sure your school’s outdoor walkways, entrances, and exits are clearly lit. Motion detector lights are excellent deterrents for potential vandals.
  • Store valuable equipment, such as computers, tablets, and science lab items in interior rooms and away from windows, out of sight from prying eyes.
  • Consider a verified security company versus a traditional alarm company. Unique factors set Sonitrol apart from traditional alarms and help us protect your students, teachers, and campus. As a provider of school security to more than 12,000 schools across North America for over fifty years, the Sonitrol Safe Schools program takes campus security to another level. Here’s how:
  1. We provide state-of-the-art audio detection. With strategically placed audio sensors throughout your facility, you don’t have to worry about your school being unprotected while the students are away. The instant a vandal breaks a window, opens a door, or breaks into your facility through rooftop access or any means, our audio sensors are activated. This means operators in central station immediately begin listening to real-time events and can determine whether it is a false alarm or if a break-in is occurring. They relay this information to law enforcement. Traditional alarms can’t verify what is happening when the motion detectors they depend on are tripped, which causes a high rate of false alarms. Unlike Sonitrol, they can’t be sure an actual break-in is occurring. Also, a unique feature of the Sonitrol alarm is that the criminals won’t even know police are on their way because this is a silent alarm.
  2. We offer managed access control. Using programmed keyless entry, you can decide which employees have permission to enter your facility and through which doors. From day care facilities to college campuses, depending on the number of your staff, this is a huge convenience, during the school year and on summer break. Traditional alarm companies may offer access control, but Sonitrol also offers door prop notification. This means that if a student or staff member intentionally leaves a door propped open, for example, to allow someone to access the school after hours, our operators will receive a notification and contact you about the door. This feature can be programmed according to your specifications. You may, for instance, want door prop notification to alert us after only thirty seconds of a door being open. It’s up to you.
  3. We offer emergency panic buttons. It’s an unfortunate reality, but schools are more vulnerable to violence and crime than ever before. When the students and teachers return after break, Sonitrol can provide unmatched security for any on-campus emergency. Our panic buttons can be placed in common areas around the school, such as the front office, and can even be carried on key chains by administrators. With the press of a button, not only will police be dispatched, the audio sensors will activate to allow operators to listen in during an emergency. This enables them to provide critical details to responding law enforcement. As an extra feature, if you choose to add video surveillance as well, after a panic button has been pressed, operators can watch live feed of your campus. This allows them to provide law enforcement even more information as to what is happening on your campus. Before the police arrive, they can know who is in the building and where any potential perpetrators may be. While traditional alarm companies might offer you a panic button, they can’t verify what is happening on your campus as Sonitrol can with our technology.

Sonitrol can provide unrivaled security for your school. We even offer fire detection monitoring. This summer break let us handle your school campus security needs. For a free quote, call us today at 1-800-444-1191 to have one of our security professionals assess your school’s security risks and recommend a tailored solution to protect your school, students, and teachers.

safe schools

 

 

Join us for the EPD Foundation SWAT Challenge!

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SWAT challenge barsFrom its inception, Sonitrol has been a proud supporter of our men and women in blue. In fact, our company wouldn’t be here today if it hadn’t been for the teamwork of an inventor and a local police officer back in the early 1960s. We are so grateful for all that the Evansville Police Department does to protect and serve our community, which is one of the many reasons we are excited about next week’s EPD Foundation SWAT Challenge.

SWAT challenge, you say? I can hardly do a squat. There’s no need to worry. This unique, 5k urban obstacle course is a family-friendly event. With more than 20 SWAT team members, plus volunteers, stationed to assist you throughout the obstacle course, this event is about being part of the EPD team. Last year’s participants ranged from six-years-old to seniors. From tire and wall obstacles, to being able to run, jump, and slide over cars, this is a 5k unlike any other, and the EPD Foundation welcomes anyone who is up for the challenge to participate.

Proceeds from the event go towards scholarships for EPD family members and specialized equipment and training for the SWAT team. This year’s challenge is on Saturday, May 4th, Star Wars Day, so be prepared to see some Star Wars-themed obstacles and maybe even some characters. Join Sonitrol in supporting the men and women who sacrifice for us twenty-four hours a day to keep our community safe. Register your team or as an individual at www.epdfoundation.org. Together, we can back the blue.

SWAT Challenge cars

5thAnnual EPD Foundation SWAT Challenge
May 4th, 2019
8a.m.-1p.m.
NW Riverside Dr., Evansville, IN 47708

SWAT team

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A Sonitrol a day keeps the burglar away!

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doctor

As a physician, you often have to juggle many different responsibilities. From handling your patients to managing your staff, you already have a lot on your plate to deal with. The worst nightmare for any physician would be to have their operations disrupted by a break-in on their premises. Due to the important and sensitive role that you play in society, you can become a desirable target without even thinking about it.

It’s a sad fact that opioid addiction is on the rise.  And even though you may not have drugs in the office, an addict will look for anything they can sell, pawn or exchange for another fix.  According to the FBI, victims of burglary suffered an estimated $3.6 Billion in property losses in 2016.  And while a good insurance company will cover the loss of property, the loss of your patient’s information cannot be measured.

Potential risks to Physician premises

A doctor’s office is often susceptible to many different risks as a result of the sensitive role that physicians play. The 3 main categories that can make them targets of burglars and vandalism include:

Drugs

While most physicians don’t keep a large stock of drugs readily available in their offices, they may have ordered a temporary stock to deal with rising customer demand. It can prove disastrous if burglars or drug addicts target your office and end up stealing drugs to utilize for harmful purposes.

Money

It is sometimes necessary to keep small amounts of cash in the office for convenience purposes. It is, therefore, a good idea to adequately protect your premises from break-ins that can result in the theft of cash.

Patient information

Most importantly, safeguarding the information of your patients should be any physician’s top concern. Because you handle addresses, social security numbers, credit card data and medical records, your office can become a target for burglaries.

In addition, disgruntled patients and their relatives can plan to do harm if they were dissatisfied with a previous experience or service.

The need for proper security

To adequately safeguard your premises, installing a verified electronic security system can deter potential threats and keep all your valuables safe. Any break-ins can be immediately detected and police can be notified to respond in real time. This will not only give you peace of mind, it will also reassure your customers that you have their best interests at heart.

How Sonitrol can help

Are your premises vulnerable? Don’t be a desirable target. Sonitrol is a verified Electronic Security System that offers intrusion detection, video-monitoring, panic-buttons, fire/smoke detection and keyless entry. These basic and essential features all work hand in hand to deter threats and to immediately detect burglary attempts. Cops love the system because it offers instant alarm verification and provides information in real time.

With advanced monitoring, it also tends to deter crime before it happens. Your premises are fully monitored through a combination of audio and video clips. Is anyone looking for opioid to feed their addiction? Sonitrol will stop them in their tracks or catch them red-handed. Need a flexible and advanced security system? Contact Sonitrol today. 800.444.1191

Have a safe, happy and fire free season!

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One of the most wonderful times of the year can quickly turn into the most dangerous time of year without proper fire prevention.  As you decorate and spread holiday cheer remember some of these simple tips:

  1. Water it or Bonfire it – Live Christmas trees are not only beautiful, but have that special Christmas smell!  But, without the proper care and attention, you can be putting an instant match into your office or home.   These simple tasks are a must:
    • Keep your tree watered.
    • Keep your tree away from heaters and flames.
    • And discard your tree when dry.
  2. Using the glow – Candles can have that warm beautiful glow and can make any office smell like grandma’s Christmas cookies.  Remember to place candles away from papers, blinds, lamps or other low hanging flammable items.  It only takes a moment for a fire to get out of control!
  3. Plug it in…but properly – Remember to:
    • Never use an indoor extension cord, outdoors
    • Never use a frayed or damaged cord – BUY A NEW ONE
    • One adapter per outlet!  Do not accept the challenge to see how many electrical appliances you can plug into one outlet!!
    • Do not plug one extension cord into another; 50 foot of electrical cord does not mean 5, 10 foot cords plugged into each other.
    • Not all cords are created equally!  In fact, most house fires are caused by improper cord usage.  Look for the number of watts on the appliance and then purchase the proper extension cord.
    • Do not connect a Three-Prong plug in a Two-Hole cord.
  4. Have a monitored fire system – When you’re away, a fire can smolder for hours without the outside world noticing.  With a monitored fire system, it is possible for help to be dispatched before even the neighbors notice.  This can save valuable property along with priceless mementos and memories!

For more tips on keeping your property from a fire, go to NFPA.ORG.

Sign says “No one’s here; burglarize me!”

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Verfied SecurityIf you have a sign on your door saying the business is closed for the weekend, you have just told the public that your building will be unoccupied for the holiday.  Is your alarm system up to the task?

Several businesses have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars over a holiday weekend.  The bad guys even took their truck.  And while you may have the very best insurance provider, they usually only cover lost equipment.  Which piece of equipment is most valuable to your business?  If it was gone, how long would you be down?  If someone burglarized your store, how long would it take to clean up and restock the missing items?  Burglaries cost money.  No system can prevent burglaries.  But a verified system has a better chance of keeping your property on your property.

For a free assessment contact us!

Apprehension – Good job Henderson Police Dept!

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Thank you @Henderson_PD for catching a burglar at a local restaurant!

@sonitrolverify #caughtbysonitrol #verifiedalarms

Friday morning in Henderson, Sonitrol operator, Terry, received an audio alarm at a local restaurant.  The clear sound of breaking glass can be heard as the alarm is tripped during the early morning break-in. The Henderson Police Department arrived to find one individual had thrown a rock through the drive thru window to gain entry.  The man was arrested and transported to the hospital for injuries sustained while climbing over the broken glass. Click on the audio clip below to hear the actual break in.

For a free assessment on a security system that works, contact us!