Fear tactics are rarely helpful in helping someone understand how to protect themselves. Studies have shown that people who regularly watch the news or crime programs on TV tend to think that crime rates in their communities are higher than people who do not watch those programs. It’s easy to know that crime is happening around you, but it can be harder to be proactive in lessening your vulnerability to it. For instance, a search on SpotCrime.com shows that in the city of Seattle, 29 burglaries and robberies were reported between November 4 and November 6 (diagram from SpotCrime shown on left). That number would easily scare anyone who owns or manages property. So, with those numbers in mind, what can you do to channel that fear into preventative action? I may be biased, given our industry, but I would say the first step a business owner should take in reducing fear and increasing safety is to install a verified business alarm system. The majority of businesses do have alarms, but relatively few have verified alarms. With verification, police respond more quickly and with more information. Just yesterday, police in King County, Wash. arrested a burglary suspect at a commercial location after one of our operators dispatched them. Joe, our operator, received video verification activations from the protected facility and could see a suspect bending down and looking under plastic sheeting. Joe dispatched King County PD. Officers arrived in minutes, found the suspect, and arrested him on suspicion of burglary. The business owner had absolutely no loss that night thanks to police intervention, and needless to say he is thrilled. Catching bad guys is what drives my colleagues and me every day. Rather than being afraid of the criminals out there, I think it is better to be proactive in getting them off the streets and into jail, and there are few better ways to do that than to catch them in their own crimes with alarm verification. Download the free two page brochure below to learn more about verified security and why we love it.