From Port Patrols to the Night Stalker: Post Alarm Systems’ Unmatched Expertise has Arrived

“There’s a new security blanket in town.”

Given the stakes, it’s just possible that a more dramatic opening is called for. But this operation – Post Alarm Systems – does summon the image of a protective force field being gently draped over Montecito and environs. Through their 68 years of providing innovative security solutions in Southern California, Post Alarm Systems has evolved that improbable combination of qualities – a security service as impenetrable as riveted titanium and as assuring as the fuzzy interior of your favorite old sweatshirt. 

“What differentiates us,” says Gina Post, “is that we’re a family operated company. That to me that means we truly care about and know our customers. We’re here to provide concierge level service, so any way we can be involved in the community, that’s what we do. Rob and I personally do it.” Rob is Robert Post, Gina’s brother and Post Alarm Systems’ owner. 

These lofty promises are not a strategic posture hatched in a necktie-bedeviled marketing meeting, but the organic persona of a family-run outfit that is both solemnly dedicated to the security mission and delighted to immerse themselves in a new community. It’s what they do. Lest the reader visualize Post Alarm Systems as an adorably earnest skeleton crew of family members running a shoestring operation out of a garage somewhere? Uh…no. 

Post Alarm Systems launched the year Elvis guested on the Milton Berle show. That was in 1956 (and had Berle’s stunned audience dropping TV dinners onto shag carpet from coast to coast – another story). In the decades since, Post Alarm has moved from strength to strength, building a sterling reputation, a broad, unmatched expertise, and the means to offer blue-chip security to home or business. They do not work with templates. Post Alarm Systems tailors your security arrangement to your unique situation – hand to glove.

“We’re one of the largest privately owned companies in Southern California,” Gina says matter-of-factly. “So we have the resources to actually take care of our customers throughout southern California. Rob and I are always available to talk to clients, and we want them to know … you may be a grandmother in a cozy cottage or a family living in a large estate. We’re always here to make sure that we’re providing peace of mind.” 

Liars and Laggards and Bears – Buh Bye. Post Alarm Systems’ Night Shield

The Home Security sector hasn’t always made the best use of its technology. Take…oh…security cameras, for instance. “This industry used to get a lot of great shots of guys in baseball hats committing burglaries,” says Robert Post with a wry grin. Criminal portraiture after the fact was never the object, but for a long time that’s what security cameras did best; forensic review. 

Post Alarm took that tech to a new proactive level, a service they call Night Shield. As is often the case with paradigm-changing innovations, this one was catalyzed by a…well… by a bear. Robert explains.

“Six years ago, I had an incident at my house. In the neighborhood these guys were trying to break into cars and mailboxes up and down the street. It was a problem. And where I’m from (foothills of Monrovia, near Pasadena) there are a lot of bears and wild animals. So I’d wake up in the morning, turn on my phone and see that the system had detected a bear.” 

But the would-be thieves loitering up and down the street and casing cars in the wee hours? The system wasn’t designed to flag a non-imminent, prospective threat. And the camera-loving bears didn’t help. “Gina’s husband is the VP of technology,” Post explains, “and I said, ‘how can we make this work?’ We came up with our Night Shield service. Now when you arm your system at night, our central station’s going to see a person detected around your property.” Post Alarm’s fully staffed, 24/7 monitoring center receives real-time video, all of it relevant thanks to Post’s AI-augmented analytic cameras. 

This isn’t a wall of screens and a bleary-eyed crew staring from one screen to the next to the next, chugging caffeine and dismissing dozens of bear and raccoon triggers in search of the shadowy figure with a crowbar. 

“There’s a term that’s used in the industry,” says Post Alarm’s Rob Bado. “Screen blind. People begin to be less attentive, and they tend to miss things, or they’ll look away.” Post Alarm’s AI-driven recognition technology makes a video event in Post Alarm’s central station actionable by definition. Post’s central station receives, in real time, an event the AI has identified as potentially nefarious. This diligence means earlier threat detection and a synchronized response. 

“Response time is 30 seconds or less,” Gina adds. “The beauty of the Night Shield service is that there’s going to be action taken if somebody’s on your property. You can fall asleep knowing you’re protected and wake up knowing that you’re protected.” The system has earned Post Alarm plaudits, from both customers and recognized oversight orgs. Accreditations are on the site (postalarm.com). “We became a UL monitoring company about 30 years ago,” Gina says, “which is a very difficult accreditation.” 

Sam Post’s Gift to our Village

“Our grandpa Sam was the chief of police for Canyon City, Colorado back in the late 40s, early 50s,” Gina Post says. “And he always had a soft place in his heart for California. So when he retired, he packed up the family and moved out to Southern California.” Sam Post loved his work, and (as can happen) used his ‘retirement’ to extend the life of service he wasn’t ready to leave. “That’s when Post Patrol was born in 1956, and he did everything from commercial patrol to port security. He even had a private investigative service where he would sometimes help LAPD crack some cases.” When Gina and Robert’s dad took the business over in the ‘70s, it was largely commercial security. A corner was turned in the ‘80s.

“What blew up the residential side of the company was the Night Stalker in the early ‘80s,” Gina says. “There had always been residential crime, but it wasn’t rampant. People still left their doors unlocked. But there were a couple instances in the Monrovia area with the Night Stalker, and dad couldn’t help them fast enough. People were nailing their windows shut.” The panic was such that the manufacturers in the security industry really started to pointedly innovate better equipment and better protocols for the alarm industry. “Mom and dad grew the business for the next three decades.” 

Now Post Alarm Systems has come to our town. Hopefully their publicity-starved bears haven’t followed. Having provided service for decades to SoCal in such enclaves as Bel Air, Beverly Hills, and Brentwood, Post Alarm knows the landscape. “We take confidentiality and privacy very seriously with our customers,” Rob Bado affirms. “In Los Angeles we have some very high profile, high net worth customers.”

This is not a security solutions company that goes by the “set it and forget it” ethos. This is a family business whose founder’s heart for people has been well-preserved – even amplified – in the company DNA. 

“We’re excited to be part of your amazing community,” Gina says. “Rob and I personally look forward to working with you. We just feel really blessed that this opportunity came up and to be part of it.”  

Post Alarm Systems
(800) 654-7678
https://postalarm.com