Security Sales & Integration March 2023 - 6

Between Us Pros
scott.goldfine@emeraldx.com | @SSIeditor
Martin Earns
a Curtain Call
I have long had
the pleasure
to know and
collaborate with
Stan Martin,
co-founding the
Police Dispatch
Quality (PDQ)
Award program
with him in 2006.
▶ THIS SSI Industry Hall of Fame Issue not
only features this year's inductees but the third
selection into the Ring of Honor (see page 40).
The 2023 honoree is Stan Martin, who for 25
years was a lauded security professional before
becoming the industry's most prolific false alarms
spokesperson as executive director of the Security
Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC). I have long
had the pleasure to know and collaborate with
Martin, co-founding the Police Dispatch Quality
(PDQ) Award program with him in 2006. Prior
to that, in 2001 when he left ADI, we all thought
he was retiring. Boy, were we wrong!
In February 2002, I wrote a tribute to him
published in SSI. On this occasion of his new accolade,
here is my original column, " My Favorite
Martin Departs Security World " :
Sound the sirens; this is not a false alarm! It has
been verified that Stan Martin - longtime crusader
for the reduction of false alarms - is leaving
the security industry. In response, I am dispatching
this well-deserved tribute.
I recently spoke with Martin, who is retiring to
pursue a ministry in Texas, about his career accomplishments
and contributions to the security industry.
" It's been great through the years getting to know
thousands of dealers and making so many good
friends, " says the humble, easy-going Martin. " It's
been exciting to see the industry grow and change. "
One of the most widely recognized figures in the
Editor-in-Chief and
Associate Publisher Scott
Goldfine, an Industry Hall
of Famer, has spent 25
years with SSI.
6
alarm industry and to law enforcement, Martin
has spent the last several years serving as a liaison
between the two in the most comprehensive efforts
ever mounted to lessen false alarms and dispatches.
He is responsible for organizing the successful
" Model Cities " and " Model States " programs -
joint projects between the alarm industry and
the International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP) that proved a concerted effort could dramatically
reduce false alarms. Among the valuable
findings was that 80% of false alarms are caused
by 20% of users.
Under Martin's guidance, those programs led to
the Coordinated Alarm Reduction Effort (CARE),
which continues to promote the effective and reSecurity
Sales & Integration MARCH 2023
sponsible use of alarm systems. Martin also served
as chair for the Private Sector Liaison Committee
(PSLC), an IACP false alarm subcommittee, and
was active in the Alarm Industry Research and Educational
Foundation (AIREF). A constant presence
at major security industry exhibitions and
conferences, he has addressed more than 1,000
police agencies.
" I believe we have seen a reduction in false
alarms of at least 50% during the past few years, "
says Martin. " Certainly, there has been a vast improvement
in the relationships between law enforcement
and the alarm industry. We have been
trying to educate them with everything we have
learned so they can become self-sustaining. It requires
vigilance. "
Martin's roots in security stretch back more than
a quarter century. After working as an applications
engineer, he founded a Texas-based alarm company
that, during the ensuing 15 years, grew into a
multimillion-dollar operation. He eventually sold
the company to Chubb Security, but continued on
as a manager before leaving to become executive
director of the National Fire and Burglar Alarm
Association (NBFAA).
Martin spent three years with NBFAA, dedicating
much of that time to the Telecommunications
Bill and the association's Chartered States process.
In 1994, he left to become vice president of industry
relations for New York-based ADI, where he
remained until September 2001. It was in that
role that Martin tackled the false alarm problem.
" It was probably the best job in the industry because
it gave me a lot of freedom to work with the
national associations and law enforcement, and to
put together the ADI Expo series, " he says. " Then, I
became fully engaged in the false alarm issue. ADI
is probably the best company I have ever worked for.
It has always supported the industry and I know it
will continue to do so, whether I am there or not. "
Although Martin has decided to answer a higher
calling, he has not lost faith in the industry he
loves and one that was so good to him. " It really
has been a privilege and honor to work in the security
industry, " he adds. " As a transition in 2002, I
will be involved part-time in managing and working
with the AIREF program. "
With Martin's work nearly done, it's up to the
alarm industry and law enforcement to run with
the torch he lit. Regardless of how far that torch is
carried, the industry owes Martin and ADI a debt
of gratitude. Thank you, Stan, well done!
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Security Sales & Integration March 2023

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