Sonitrol Pacific sees 12-year apprehension record high

Jan. 17, 2012
Etheridge earns honor second year in a row

With 257 burglars, vandals and trespassers caught after they were detected by a Sonitrol Pacific security system, the company's 2011 apprehension record reached a 12-year high. Operator Kris Etheridge's monitoring expertise accounted for 46 of these, earning her the 2011 Peggy Carman award.

Sonitrol Pacific closed the books on 2011 with the second highest number of detection-to-apprehension of suspects in the company's history, toppling the previous second place total of 256 set in 1998 and falling two suspects short of the all-time record of 259 set in 1999.

Of the 257, 32 percent were detected and caught before they got inside the Sonitrol Pacific protected facility. Audio security sensors work differently from security systems based on motion sensors and door contact sensors. When Sonitrol Pacific's audio sensors pick-up abnormal activity at a customer's facility, a signal is sent to the Verification Center and operators listen to live audio transmissions from the site. Once the alarm is verified, they immediately call the proper authorities or if no threat exists, reset the system without disturbing the police or the customer.

Kristine Etheridge monitored Sonitrol Pacific systems and dispatched police to catch 46 suspects in 2011, earning Sonitrol Pacific's Peggy Carman award for the second time in two years.

The "Peggy Carman" award was created in 2008 to honor Sonitrol Pacific's long-time employee, culture ambassador and "Godmother", Peggy Carman. It is given annually to the operator responsible for the most apprehensions that year. Etheridge's monitoring and verification skills led to dispatches resulting in the arrest of 46 suspected criminals, 18 percent of Sonitrol Pacific's total detections-to-apprehensions in 2011. Etheridge joined the Sound Security team in August 2007 and is an expert at monitoring audio detection technology.