Sonitrol Foils First State Cigarette Outlet Attempted Robbery

At approximately 11:28 PM on Sunday September 9th, 2012, Sonitrol Security of Delaware Valley operator Chancey McGraw received an Audio alert on his security alarm console, he heard loud crashing sound, live audio was then active and Chancey heard footsteps and rummaging throughout the warehouse area.

The Sonitrol operator spoke with DSP dispatcher and told them that we had live audio and could hear voices and movement inside the warehouse area on the second floor of First State Cigarette Outlet. While he was on line relaying up to the minute information. Sonitrol operator Becky Zimmerman contacted the customer Susan May who said she will be there in 20 minutes to allow police into the facility.

Officers and K-9 from Delaware State Police as well as New Castle County and  Wilmington City Police quickly arrived at the scene found a broken window and the side of building and surrounded the facility. The customer opened the doors for the police. Officers and K-9 entered and quickly found 2 of the 3 intruders hiding inside the facility. 2 juveniles were apprehended at the site and all items that were stolen were retrieved. As of today they are enjoying some quiet time at Gander Hill Prison.

Ms. May stated that after the apprehension, the officers told her that the apprehension was made due to their outstanding alarm system and the excellent information that Chancey relayed to the DSP Dispatcher. Another satisfied Sonitrol customer, thanks again to the Delaware State Police and Wilmington Police Departments.

Sonitrol Catches Copper Tubing Thieves in the Act, as Florida's New Law Takes Effect

Thieves cutting copper tubing from a two-story office building's rooftop air conditioner early one morning quickly found themselves in jail - after a Sonitrol audio detection alarm system detected their footsteps and alerted Sunrise police.

At 1:30 on a July morning, an audio sensor inside of medical equipment company Fiegert Endotech's U.S. headquarters in Sunrise, Florida, relayed the sound of footsteps on the rooftop to Sonitrol's central monitoring station. Sonitrol monitoring staff immediately notified Sunrise police.

Knowing that this was a verified incident - not a false alarm - police arrived at the office building in three minutes. When officers climbed to the roof, they found and arrested two suspects who were hiding behind the air conditioning unit. In the pair's possession were copper tubing that had been cut from the unit, plus wire cutters and other burglary tools. The suspects had apparently climbed onto a neighboring roof and walked across a slab of wood to the office building's roof.

Under a Florida law that took effect July 1, penalties for stealing copper and other metals just became tougher. "Law enforcement and industry are working together to curb the theft of copper and other metals from businesses, schools, churches, and homes - crimes that have cost Floridians millions of dollars in the last few years," said John Ray, III, president of Sonitrol of Fort Lauderdale.

"Often these crimes don't require entering a building, so being able to detect the sounds burglars make when they attack exterior lighting or air conditioning units is a major advantage," Ray said. "When thieves damage an AC unit to strip out the copper, the cost of repairing the unit can far outwieigh the value of the stolen metal."

Florida legislators and law enforcement have clearly made stopping metal theft a priority, Ray added. Verified audio and video intrusion detection systems protect a facility's interior, perimeter, and roof, he explained, and police typically respond faster when they know an incident is truly underway.

According to the Floridians for Copper and Metal Crime Prevention Coalition, which supported the new law, metal theft has both economic and safety impacts.

In South Florida and across the state, thieves steal copper wiring from utilities and telecommunications systems and a host of unguarded businesses. The new Florida law imposes stiffer penalties for those convicted of metal thefts. It also requires recycling companies to document names, addresses and other details from people who sell them certain metals.