Could your business succeed meeting only 2% of demand? Would you be satisfied if your sales team closed only 2% of their sales quota? Would you be happy if you only got 2% of your March Madness tournament picks correct? Then why, as consumers, do we continue to buy non-verified alarm systems for our businesses and homes that work only 2% of the time? In the U.S. there is a huge epidemic of false alarms. The false alarm rate on a national level is around 98%. What does a 98% false alarm rate mean to the consumer? Police prioritize calls and dispatches. If a non-verified burglar alarm is reported, that dispatch is prioritized below not only verified alarms but many other crime dispatches as well. Why, you ask? Police dispatchers are aware of the 98% false alarm rate and want police officers to be gainfully employed catching “real” bad guys, not answering false alarms. Police are in place to protect the community they serve, not to waste taxpayer dollars answering false alarms.   To get past this 98% false alarm rate, consumers should research the benefits of verified security alarm systems. Most companies offering verified alarm systems monitor locally, where the operator verifies the crime in progress with audio, video or a combination of audio/video and reports it to the local police department. The verification process works both ways: the operator can verify a false alarm just as easily as they verify a crime in progress, which ultimately reduces the 98% false alarm rate. It’s time we as consumers start holding alarm companies accountable and demand better than a 2% success rate. Curious about false alarm ordinances in your state? Ask one of our security experts and we’ll be happy to share what we know.