Editor’s Note: SIAC Responds to Security Business

In a letter to the editor, the Security Industry Alarm Coalition maintains that it is improving the status quo of alarm response in the U.S.

Paul Rothman

Nov. 17, 2025

3 min read

Key Highlights

SIAC challenges the privatized alarm response narrative: The Security Industry Alarm Coalition claims my October article overlooked two decades of successful law enforcement partnerships that have reduced false dispatches more than 50%.
The counterview: collaboration beats disruption: Rather than "Uberizing" response with private security, SIAC's approach uses transparent ordinances with escalating fines only for chronic offenders, appeals processes, and community education.

This article originally appeared in the November 2025 issue of Security Business magazine. Don’t forget to mention Security Business magazine on LinkedIn or our other social handles if you share it.

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While I always aim to paint a complete, fair and balanced picture of any controversial issues facing the industry, there are times when I can overlook or miss important stakeholders in a conversation. Such was the case with my cover story in the October issue of Security Business, “Reimagining Alarm Response” (www.securityinfowatch.com/55318375).

Upon publishing the article, Steve Keefer, Executive Director of the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC), reached out in writing to take issue with the article, saying: “While the article raises our shared concerns about law enforcement resources, it creates an incomplete picture of both the direction of national policy when it comes to verified response and the success of the long-standing partnership between the alarm industry and public safety agencies.”

For those unfamiliar with SIAC, it was created more than 20 years ago by the four major North American alarm associations – the Electronic Security Association (ESA), the Security Industry Association (SIA), The Monitoring Association (TMA) and the Canadian Security Association (CANASA) – to serve as the industry’s single voice on alarm management issues.

Steve Keefer is Executive Director of the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC).

“Since its founding, SIAC has worked directly with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and state law enforcement groups to develop effective, balanced alarm-management policies nationwide,” Keefer wrote.

“The claim that ‘punitive fines are killing system usage’ ignores the progress achieved through fair, transparent, and collaborative alarm-management programs,” Keefer added. “SIAC’s Model Alarm Ordinance, used in hundreds of communities, grants grace for first-time mistakes, applies escalating fines only to chronic offenders, and provides clear appeals and registration processes. This approach has successfully reduced false dispatches by 50 percent or more without discouraging citizens from arming their systems. Data shows that properly structured ordinances enhance compliance and preserve confidence in police response.”

Here is an extended excerpt from Mr. Keefer’s letter to the editor. Read the full version at www.securityinfowatch.com/55326053.

The idea of “Uberizing” alarm response by sending private security instead of trained law enforcement officers may sound innovative, but experience proves otherwise.
In verified-response cities, citizens and business owners often respond to alarms themselves rather than hiring private guards – an extremely dangerous trend.

During Dallas’s brief verified response experiment, two business owners who went to investigate their own alarm were brutally attacked and beaten by a burglar, an incident caught on surveillance video, and one of the key reasons the city repealed verified response.

No mobile-app dispatch system can replicate the training, authority, and coordination that sworn officers provide when confronting criminals in progress.

SIAC’s philosophy remains clear: work with communities. By fostering collaboration among alarm companies, users, and law enforcement, SIAC has helped cities cut false alarms without negatively impacting public safety. Regular reviews, community outreach, and ongoing education keep systems effective, compliant, and trusted.

Security Business welcomes letters to the editor expressing your opinions, challenges to our content, or any other commentary. Send them to my email address, which is noted below.

About the Author

Paul Rothman

Editor-in-Chief/Security Business

Paul Rothman is Editor-in-Chief of Security Business magazine. Email him your comments and questions at [email protected]. Access the current issue, full archives and apply for a free subscription at www.securitybusinessmag.com.