COPS Monitoring acquires AlarmWATCH

WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J.—COPS Monitoring has acquired AlarmWATCH of Hunt Valley, Md., a deal that brings the nationwide wholesale monitoring provider 400 new dealers and 150,000 accounts.

The acquisition includes a 14,000-square-foot, UL-listed central station that COPS will use to monitor AlarmWATCH's accounts, said David Smith, director of marketing and communications for COPS. The company currently operates central stations in five locations: Florida, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas and at its headquarters here.

“We are continually looking for ways to expand our hometown presence and philosophy by opening or acquiring central stations in new markets to better serve independent alarm dealers,” Smith told Security Systems News. “The AlarmWATCH central station was a great opportunity to better serve alarm dealers in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and the surrounding states.”

Smith said COPS retained all of AlarmWATCH's nearly 100 employees. Gail Schreiner, vice president of operations for AlarmWATCH, will continue to manage the Maryland central station.

“It's business as usual,” Smith said.

Bob Lepczyk, president of AlarmWATCH, said in a prepared statement that the two companies would be much stronger together than they were apart.

“Over the past 22 years, AlarmWATCH has been dedicated to providing alarm monitoring that exceeds our alarm dealers' expectations,” he said. “With 34 years of experience, leading-edge technology and professional staff, I am certain that COPS Monitoring can bring even more resources and solutions to the table and help our dealers reach the next level.”

Smith said the advantages for dealers include the added reliability of multi-state monitoring and the availability of MPower, COPS' new dealer-access and alarm database management software.

“We will give the dealers the option of offering subscribers Web access to view their account information, place their account on test, and to view alarm history,” he said. “We also continually reinvest in technology, which means that our alarm dealers will always be able to offer their subscribers [the latest] products and services available on the market.”

With the acquisition of AlarmWATCH, COPS now provides services to more than 3,500 independent alarm dealers representing nearly 800,000 accounts nationwide.