**By Shawn Benefiel, School & Government Agency Security Specialist**

How powerful is audio detection and sound security? A longtime Sonitrol Pacific partner and client recently had that power reinforced in a somewhat scary sound security situation. Our Verification Center operators were alerted to sounds of broken glass at our client’s place of worship on a Saturday night. With the verified sounds that followed, such as a zipper opening on a bag and footsteps, police were dispatched to the location and were met and allowed entry by our client. The police entered the facility with the K-9 team and searched for the perpetrator. After a thorough search, it was reported to us that no one was in the building. However, the Sonitrol Pacific operator continued to hear movement sounds over the church security system’s audio verification access control panel and made them aware of this. In addition, the K-9 officer continued to display signs of locating a person in a certain area, but no one was visible. Eventually the PD left, assuming the perp had left the premises.

The following morning, our client was caught by surprise when the perp jumped down from a crawl space and ran out the door. The person had hidden in a crawl space right above the area the K-9 officer had been alerted to and spent the night sleeping quietly in the crawl space. In the end, the easily visual clues of the perp being on premises were not immediately evident but the instincts of the K-9 unit and the power of verified audio security services were on top of the situation. The law enforcement agency assured the client that in the future the audio verification and K-9 notifications will lead to a more thorough search which would result in an arrest. No other security company out there can provide this type of verification or working relationship with your local police agency!

Sleeping in the ceiling? All that burglary must have worn the suspect out!