Richmond Alarm News Blog

It is Small Business Week in America (June 17-21) and we salute our customers operating small businesses in Richmond and the surrounding region. According to WhiteHouse.gov, half of all Americans work for or own a small business and small businesses create 2 out of 3 net new private sector jobs. We applaud these businesses for what they are contributing to the economy.

Tweet About Your Favorite Small Business

During National Small Business Week, The White House would like us all to visit our favorite local small businesses and then tweet about it using the hashtag #SBW2013

How about it Richmond? Can we get some of our favorite local businesses noticed? Share with us what area businesses are your favorites and what makes them better than the rest.

Take a look at a few of the Richmond Area Small Businesses we are privileged to serve.

Richmond and its surrounding counties have been hit in the last week by Andrea (the first of the 2013 tropical storms), several thunderstorms, and even a few confirmed tornados. These storms so early in the season indicate that we should be prepared for serious weather events this summer, including thunderstorms that are so prevalent in Richmond during the hotter months. Storms can impact your security system if lightning strikes or if there is a power outage.

Lightning Strikes

Each year lightning is responsible for 200,000 insurance claims and causes $1 billion in damages. Your home’s plumbing and electrical system are helpful in keeping you safe because if lightning strikes, these systems disperse the energy so you are safer. Of course, this isn’t good news for your electronics and plumbing. (lightningsafety.noaa.gov)

Signs you’re your security system was damaged by a lightning strike

• Alarms are sounding and the panel display lights are blinking
• The control panel is blank with no sign of life

Contact Richmond Alarm if your security system was damaged by an electrical storm to schedule a service technician repair. Many homeowners’ insurance policies cover damage from lightning and we can help you with the paperwork that must be submitted to the insurance company to certify the security system was damaged by lightning.

Did you receive an insert in your statement from Richmond Alarm with information about the Virginia Emergency Preparedness and Hurricane Tax Holiday?

Tomorrow (May 31, 2013) is the last day to take advantage of savings on supplies you may need if a hurricane (or other natural disaster) hits Central Virginia. Among the list of supplies that qualify for the break on the state sales tax are batteries, including those you need for your security system control panel.

Come by our office to pick up a battery or schedule an appointment for a technician to install a new battery in your security system. If the battery is over 3 years old, it is time to replace it so it will give you up to an additional 8 hours of power to the security system in the event the electricity goes out. That extra life will be useful as we approach summer and the many thunderstorms it brings.

When the weather turns nice, the scammers seem to come out in droves, knocking on your door to sell you something. Of particular concern to us, are some less scrupulous companies that may try to tell you your home security company no longer exists and then replace your security equipment and monitoring with their sub-par equipment and service that you have to pay for. Be confident that Richmond Alarm Company is thriving and we would notify customers directly if there were changes to our company. Be alert that scammers will do this for many different services to trick you to switch to them. Don’t fall prey to door knocking scams that urge you to switch to their service immediately. If they aren’t willing to give you time to investigate, they are hiding something, so be firm and send them on their way.

Most Door to Door Sales People are Not Operating Legally

In addition to home security system sales, it seems there are some driveway pavers/sealers, roof washers, mulch spreaders and power washers who go door to door selling their services. They often have a special price, today only, and use high pressure sales tactics to get you to agree. However, these are often “fly by night” operations that are not known for quality work and are difficult to impossible to track down if you have a problem with the service. Be wary of anyone who comes to you uninvited trying to urgently sell their services.  Most jurisdictions such as Hanover and Chesterfield require a solicitors’ license which ensures anyone roaming through neighborhoods has been checked by the police. Who needs a solicitor’s license? This is what Chesterfield County requires:

“A person who goes door to door in residential areas for the purpose of selling any goods, wares,  merchandise, subscriptions or services must obtain a Solicitor’s permit. For those involved in security systems work/sales, additional documentation must be obtained from the Department of Criminal Justice Services and submitted with the application.”

Counties Employ Solicitor's Licenses to Protect Residents

Essentially anyone coming to your door uninvited should have a solicitor’s license and if they do not, police encourage you to contact them to report it. This is of particular importance to anyone selling security systems.

Contact Richmond Alarm

We ask that you notify us immediately if anyone makes claims that they are working on behalf of Richmond Alarm or taking over our customers’ security. That would be false – we work too hard for you, our customers, to allow that to happen.

Join Richmond Alarm tomorrow,
Saturday May 18 2013,
at Chesterfield Towne Center
for the 5th Annual Family Safety Fair!
10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Fun activities and giveaways for kids (of all ages) include:

• Live Music by The Taters
• Life-Evac helicopter
• Police Cars
• Fire Trucks
• Rescue Squads
• Smoke House

Free services the adults care about:

• Document Shredding: Up to 2 trash bags of personal documents
• E-Recycling: Computers and household electronics, EXCEPT TVs
• Drug Take Back: Flushed pharmaceuticals are starting to impact the environment, so bring those old meds to this event to be disposed properly.
• Keys made on site by our Locksmith

We hope to see you there!

When you move to a residential or commercial location that already has a security system installed, many new owners think they have to use the security company that installed the equipment. You are not limited to the company that installed it, unless you prefer that company. Richmond Alarm can take over monitoring for practically all brands of security system equipment - our technicians are skilled and experienced at making repairs or modifying the system to fit your needs.

Which Security Company is Right for YOU?

The former property owner chose a security company several years ago to fit their budget and needs, but you are not limited by their choice. Contact Richmond Alarm and we’ll assess the system, give you customized options to meet your needs and then connect the security system and begin monitoring. We monitor security alarm systems, fire detection & suppression systems and carbon monoxide detectors so help is called when you need it most.

Compare us to other security companies and find out why Richmond Alarm is the security company for you.

How can we help you? Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

Join Richmond Alarm Company at Chesterfield Towne Center as we sponsor the Family Safety Fair on Saturday, May 18, 2013.It is from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Activities Include:

• Live Music from The Taters
• Interactive Safety Displays and Demonstrations from regional Fire, Police and Rescue Departments
• Document Shredding
• E-Recycling
• Bounce House from ACAC
• Life Evac Helicopter
• Chesterfield Mobile Command Center

We hope you'll mark your calendars and join us at CTC next Saturday!

 

 

 

 

Concern about church security grows after violent events in a New Mexico place of worship last weekend. Churches balance being open and welcoming with being cautious and must be able to recognize and act upon signals of a potentially dangerous situation.

Church Emergency Plans

Does your house of worship have an action plan if there is a threat during worship? Is the building secure from break-ins and intrusion? 

Many church leaders have questions about the best ways to protect the congregation from danger and the property from theft or damage. There is a Church Security Forum held this Saturday, May 4, 2013 at the Richmond Police Training Academy. Some of the topics covered are:

• How to respond to an Active Shooter/Threat
• Building Security
• Handling Money

Watch the NBC 12 video on the topic. The event is open to anyone and you can register by calling 804-646-6754.

Read more about Richmond Alarm Company's recommended security measures for places of worship.

Richmond Alarm Company offers commercial locksmith services for local businesses in and around the Richmond area. Richmond Alarm purchased Virginia Key and Lock in 2009 and the acquisition of this company enables us to provide complete locksmith services in both residential and commercial applications.

Commercial locksmith services include:

• Creating Master Keys
• Master Key Systems
• Performing Re-keys
• Sales and Service of Safes
• Lockout Services and Lock Repair
• Access Control

Contact Virginia Key and Lock, a division of Richmond Alarm Company to schedule locksmith services for your business.

Master Key Systems

A master key system is a set of locks that are keyed so that they each may have an individual key, called a pass key, yet all are opened by an additional, special key called a master key. These locks would be keyed different and master keyed. Using a master key system is helpful for businesses that have several buildings and locks.

For example, if your business has three buildings and each building has six locks they could each be keyed differently and a master key would operate all the locks within a single building. The master key opens all the locks in all three buildings. You could also have a submaster key that opens one building but will not open any lock in either of the other two buildings.

Access Control / Keycard Door Locks

Access control means controlling and monitoring the movement of people or vehicles through secured access points such as doors and parking lot barriers.  Access control is very important for several different types of businesses Access control systems allow you to decide who goes where in your building and at what times, so only authorized personnel may gain entry. Doors in your building will remain locked to outsiders unless someone is given a keycard with authorization to unlock the door. Visitors can even be identified by issuing special visitor cards.

Contact our locksmith division at Richmond Alarm Company for access control, master key systems, rekeys, safe locks, safe installations and door hardware at 804-648-5301.

One news source said there were 600 surveillance cameras in the area around the Boston Marathon bombings, but it is the high definition camera on the Lord & Taylor building that produced the best images of the two brothers accused of detonating bombs near the finish line. Even at great distances, the high definition video camera produced images that were useful to law enforcement in identifying the suspects and helped locate them.

When the images from the Lord & Taylor camera were first shown on the news, Richmond Alarm President, Wayne Boggs could tell immediately that it was a high definition video camera based on the quality of images. Those clearer images were integral in identifying the bombing suspects.

Debate over Government Use of Cameras

The use of public video cameras can be controversial in cities where groups like the ACLU say it violates citizens’ rights to privacy and could lead to government repression, such as occurs in countries like China and Iran. Boston has a relatively low number of police video cameras compared to New York’s 3,000+ and London’s 400,000. According to WSJ, the ACLU was active in keeping video cameras from being activated in the City of Cambridge, MA. Unfortunately that was also the town where an MIT officer was shot and killed in a gun battle with the bombing suspect.

Is “Big Brother” watching a bad thing? Many say, "no".  In public places, there is no expectation of privacy and the government cannot prosecute people’s public actions unless there is a law against the action anyway. Since it took teams of law enforcement to scour the videos looking for the two people believed to set the bombs, we see police resources are not watching video just looking for people to arrest. It is used after a crime to identify suspects.

Decrease Crime with Video Surveillance

Certainly public video cameras will not deter all crime, but good cameras can produce valuable evidence when a crime occurs. This leads to getting criminals off the streets and is useful at deterring some criminal activity since no one wants to be caught and punished for a crime. If video security cameras are evident, a “would-be criminal” is less likely to commit the crime since chances of punishment are greater.

Video Security Systems Richmond, VA

Richmond Alarm Company installs high definition video camera systems that hone in on the details. We know the regulations around what can and cannot be recorded in and around your property. Contact us today for a video system installation quote.