Florida Police Chiefs Praise SIAC’s Engagement On Alarm Management

The Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) President Stephan Dembinsky recently sent SIAC one of the most meaningful appreciation letters we have ever received — a tribute to our SIAC team, Glen Mowrey, Bob Neely and AAF (Alarm Association of Florida) for the years of nurturing and professional investment/support of Florida Chiefs.

If we look back 18-20 years, many of us remember the nearly impossible task we faced with reaching out to the numerous Florida Chiefs, their fierce independence and the lack of willingness to work together with us in the alarm management arena. First, with Glen reaching out to individual chiefs, opening a few doors, and then bringing Bob Neely (now retired Executive Director/AAF) into the fold, they established relationships that led to trust and ultimately to the formation of an Alarm Management Committee within the Florida Chiefs Association. That led to acceptance of the Model Ordinance followed by the passing of a state law requiring ECV (two-call) and joint cooperation with other legislation. A beautiful example of the ultimate public-private sector partnership!

Cited below is an excerpt from Chief Stephan Dembinsky to SIAC:

“We felt it important to express our thanks and deep appreciation of the longstanding partnership with the Alarm Association of Florida (AAF) and the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC). The relationship between our organizations has proven to be extremely beneficial and more importantly for our members. When we first established our partnership and support of the Association and the Coalition back in 2005, we never imagined the positive impact it would have on our profession. By forming the Alarm Management Committee, it afforded us the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn more about the challenges that both professions face.”

These partnerships would never have occurred without you and Mr. Glen Mowrey. As you know, Glen has a unique talent of bringing people together to further a mission, so we appreciate his longstanding involvement in the FPCA and the service he provides our members.

The adoption of the Model Alarm Ordinance that is being used by our agencies throughout the state has improved operations and significantly reduced personnel time in responding to false alarms. Again, another positive outcome from this partnership.

We have worked together on several legislative issues affecting both Associations and we believe that the Enhanced Call Verification (ECV) was one of our greatest accomplishments. If I am not mistaken, Florida was the first state to implement ECV. Again, this shows that working together on areas of mutual concern can only enhance our ability to move our respective missions forward.”

This formula has worked in many more states and is still working today, albeit through a gradual process that in most cases takes years of tenacious perseverance tempered with patience. The same applies to professional relationships within IACP, NSA and other national law enforcement associations

Times have changed, person to person meetings, conferences with these groups have greatly diminished, yet the personal relationships remain and continue to pay dividends. I thank each of you for the personal support and commitment day after day. Let us all be encouraged by what has been accomplished to date and may we each look forward to finding new ways to keep us in the forefront of the challenges ahead!