Newsletter/Blog


2017-03-29
CBAR Quarterly Newsflash March 2017


Dear Valued Client,

CBAR proudly celebrated its 18th birthday in February 2017.  Hence, for the past 18 years, the operation involving alarm monitoring and armed response has continued non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since the company’s inception in 1999.

This is no mean feat, and the fact that all 7 managers in the various departments have been with the company for periods ranging from 6 to 13 years, speaks volumes.  Staff retention is always an indicator of a good, healthy company and certain operational staff such as control room operators and armed reaction staff have also been in the employ of CBAR for up to 9 years.

Crime within the City Bowl Area is currently highest in Tamboerskloof, the majority being in Belle Ombre, Leeukloof Drive, Burnside and Leeuwenvoet Road, where theft out of motor vehicles is rife.  Laptops, sports goods and clothing are still being stolen and should not be left visible or even in the boot, as criminals break into motor vehicles and then simply open the boot.

Important facts pertaining to alarms

  • CBAR is 100% reliant on your alarm system being fully functional. Our control room operators would only become aware of any intrusion onto your property or into your premises, if your alarm system generates a signal.
  • CBAR has experienced a number of break-ins where it was discovered that the client had FAILED to arm the alarm, either in error or knowingly. Should there be a positive intrusion into a property where the client suffers a loss, the insurer (provided it is a requirement in the insurance policy) would request an alarm activation report from us. This is to satisfy them that the alarm was indeed armed during the intrusion. All alarm systems have an event log which stores all this information and the insurer will undoubtedly refute a claim where the alarm was not switched on.
  • Where there is a faulty zone/s on an alarm system, some clients merely bypass these faulty zone/s, which would leave certain areas unprotected. If an item is stolen from an area that is bypassed, the insurer may not pay out for these items.
  • Often, clients acquire a new pet and their existing alarm system does not have pet tolerant sensors. Instead of changing to pet tolerant sensors, zones are simply by-passed, which reduces the effectiveness of the alarm system.
  • An alarm system is just like any other piece of electronic equipment and should be maintained, upgraded (if necessary), checked and tested, to ensure the signal is communicating with our monitoring centre. It should be service at least once annually by our qualified technicians.
  • In a few instances the voltage on the battery back-up was too low and failed to trigger the radio transmitter; hence no signal could be sent to our control centre. Batteries have a lifespan!
  • Certain clients alarm systems are still linked to our control centre via telephone only. Should your phone be non-functional due to the line being cut, a bill not being paid or simply a Telkom fault, you would have no alarm signal connection to our control centre. The practice of telephone monitoring was acceptable 20 years ago, but it is absolutely imperative that a radio transmitter be installed, as this serves as a back-up to the telephone monitoring and takes less than 2.5 seconds to send a signal to our control centre, far faster than a phone line. In a duress situation speed is paramount to the response. Just a point to consider, business premises are required, by insurers to have dual monitoring.
  • CBAR also has had occurrences whereby clients have pushed panic buttons in emergency situations and had no response from the control centre. This is due the fact that panic buttons are made to be child proof and require to be pushed and held in for at least 3 seconds. They do not operate on the same principal as a TV remote. In a domestic application, panics should be held in until the siren sounds.
  • As CBAR is a SAIDSA (South African Intruder Detection Services Association) approved alarm installation / servicing company, we attend to many alarm systems on a daily basis, some of which are outdated and in need of upgrading, as they do not provide sufficient intruder detection, especially in areas of value. As you can well imagine, an alarm system that is 10? 15 years old, could be compared to a cell phone which is 10? 15 years old?  Technology changes from day to day and the various new types of intruder detection including outside beams and sensors would offer a far greater level of security to you and your family.
  • Most intrusions do occur during the day, when criminals believe that occupants of residences are at work. So often the domestic staff are confronted by intruders and have no means of calling for assistance. It is strongly advised that alarms should have remote panic buttons attached so that these can be carried with them throughout the extent of the property, alleviating a mad rush for a fixed panic button in a confrontational situation. PLEASE CONVEY TO YOUR DOMESTIC THE CORRECT WAY TO USE A PANIC BUTTON AND WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN THEY HAVE UTILISED THIS PANIC FASCILITY. i.e. that a control centre will call to try and establish what the emergency is and that the armed reaction will be dispatched on all instances. Our control centre receives many false panic activations due to user error by pushing the incorrect button on a remote; namely garage door or gate. Please familiarise yourselves with your current remote.
  • As alarm systems serve as an early warning to an intrusion, CBAR strongly recommends that you have your alarm system serviced and checked timeously. Should you require a service, upgrade or any additions, kindly contact our technical department on 0860 151515. Please note that we do not charge for a consultant to attend your premises to do an evaluation of your current alarm set up, so please do not hesitate to contact us with any enquiries.
  • Even with all the electronic detection including outside beams, criminals are beginning to find ways to “get around” some of the infra-red detectors.
  • CBAR also installs CCTV, for those who want to be able to “look in” on your property from anywhere in the world.

Password:  Your personal password, not to be confused with the user code to activate / deactivate your alarm keypad, is the code word / number you give the control room operator should the alarm activate at your premises when called.

This password will indicate to the control room operator that all is fine on the premises and that the armed response need not attend.

ANY deviation from the chosen password WILL result in the armed reaction being dispatched to your premises.

Kindly ensure this password is kept secret and only given to those designated, responsible persons.

Longstanding clients who may have 2 passwords;

  1. For all is in order
  2. For duress;

Only a singular password for “all is in order” is required, NOT FOR DURESS. 

Should you have any queries in this regard, please contact Valencia via email on Valencia@citybowlsecurity.co.za.

Should you be going on holiday, kindly email CBAR on customerservice@cbar.co.za or fax to 0860 151516 with key holders details who will be able to give us access to your premises in your absence. 

Kindly try and send this information to us well before departure and during working hours, so that our data capturer can load this information on our system.

 

CBAR, 24 hours a day, only minutes away!

 

Kind regards and best wishes

 

Alan Kusevitsky and the CBAR team



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