NCJ Number
189233
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 28 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 54-56,58,60,62
Date Published
June 2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article suggests ways that police departments can reduce the number of false alarms that waste police resources and describes how some police agencies have dealt with this problem.
Abstract
The first step is to document the extent of the problem. This involves determining the number of alarm owners in the jurisdiction and the percentage of police calls that have been due to false alarms. Documentation that shows the extent of the false-alarm problem is necessary for gaining the cooperation of other entities that must be involved in an effective solution. Ordinances and programs are unlikely to be effective unless they have the cooperation and support of local alarm companies and citizens. An ordinance is necessary in order to define what the jurisdiction expects from the alarm owners and the alarm companies, as well as what they in turn can expect from the jurisdiction. Fines are necessary in an ordinance and should be escalating. Persistent enforcement of the law is required for it to act as a deterrent. Police agencies should have a false-alarm unit to focus on the problem. Such a unit would maintain computerized records on false alarms, using appropriate computer software. For the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) police jurisdiction, an outside firm was contracted to mount a plan to reduce false alarms. When a new false-alarm ordinance was passed in 1995, the private company mounted a media campaign to acquaint the public with the ordinance and answer questions. This article also discusses ways to hold alarm companies responsible for reducing false alarms, ways to hold government facilities responsible, measuring the success of a program, and how to obtain more resources for a false-alarm program.