Last weekend certainly was busy in our Verification Center! Our alarm monitoring operators detected and dispatched police on four incidents in Oregon and Washington, resulting in the apprehension of multiple suspects.

On Saturday (May 18) at 4 a.m., Operator Kris Etheridge received an alarm on the storage hall door at a public junior high school in Kitsap County, Wash.. The alarm did not restore and she heard some bumps, so she dispatched Bremerton PD. While on the phone with the police, Kris heard some faint movement with the HVAC and drawers opening. She then heard another door close. The police dispatcher reported that the officers made contact with someone onsite. One male was apprehended. He found the kitchen door open and was helping himself to things inside.

On Sunday (May 19), Operator Mike Young received an alarm on the southeast classroom and hall doors of a public elementary school in Pierce County, Wash. The doors stayed in violation but Mike could only hear the HVAC in the background. He was starting to dispatch the school district’s guard service when he heard footsteps and voices inside. He dispatched the Pierce County Sheriff and continued to receive multiple door alarms from different areas inside. The sheriff’s deputy arrived and detained three male juveniles. The three were then arrested for burglary. The arresting officer later called back to express his appreciation to Sonitrol Pacific for being able to give him live updates of where the suspects were within in the building. He was the first officer on the scene in the rural area where the school is located, so backup took a while to arrive. By being aware of where the suspects were inside, the officer was able to track the crime in progress without jeopardizing his safety as the only officer.

At 2:40 a.m. on Monday, Joe Orsborn received audio activations from the southwest hallway area of a public elementary school in Tacoma. He heard a lot of banging and possible glass breakage and dispatched authorities. The school patrol arrived onsite and found a broken window on the entry door and saw a shadow inside. Tacoma Police arrived and began setting up to contain the building. The school patrol later called back and reported that the officers found a seven-year-old boy inside the school playing on the computer. The boy is a student at the school and lives nearby. Believe it or not,  he used a piece of concrete to break the window and gain entry. Officers returned him to his parents.

An hour and a half later, Mike received multiple trips on the roof hatch of a retail store in Gresham, Ore. He dispatched Gresham PD, who surrounded the building after spotting someone on the roof. The store contact later reported that officers found two people near the store but could not determine if they were involved in the incident.

We’d like to say that our hardworking operators have been taking a break since the weekend, but unfortunately crime never sleeps!