Security Systems—

Police Seek To Curb Numerous False Alarms

By Andrew Gorosko

Police Chief Michael Kehoe is urging local residents and business owners to understand the proper operation of their security alarm systems, and also to resolve any technical problems with those systems to reduce the number of false alarms to which police respond.

“We urge all alarm systems owners to be responsible alarm system users, and to have their systems checked for faulty or inappropriately selected alarm equipment, or poor installation of alarm systems,” Chief Kehoe said in a statement. All people who use alarm systems should be trained in their proper use, he added.

The town has approximately 2,900 installed alarm systems that are registered with the police department. During 2003, the police department responded to 2,095 false alarms and to only four actual alarms, according to Chief Kehoe.

“We are urging all residents and businesses to educate and train all users in the proper operation of their security systems. An activation of an alarm requires the response of two officers, who may travel several miles to reach their assigned destination,” according to the police chief.

The staff-hours of police time that are lost while responding to false alarms is “significant,” Chief Kehoe said. The chief estimates that a typical false alarm response consumes between 20 and 30 minutes of an officer’s work time.

Police recognize the importance of alarm systems as an effective deterrent to burglary and other crimes, the police chief stressed.

But as the town continues to develop, more alarm systems are expected to come into use. Consequently, police expect that they will be consuming yet more time responding to false alarms, the police chief said.

Added time spent responding to false alarms translates into lost opportunities for crime fighting, he said.

A town ordinance requires that each security alarm system in use to be registered with the police department. All new systems within a building are charged a one-time registration fee of $15. People who have purchased buildings containing existing alarm systems are asked to reregister those alarm systems. There is no fee levied to reregister an alarm system.

The town ordinance allows an alarm system to sound up to three false alarms without penalty. However, the fourth false alarm that sounds within a given calendar year results in a $30 fine. Each successive false alarm after the fourth false alarm results in a $50 fine.

Police Captain Joe Rios explained April 27 that two police patrol officers are dispatched to each report of an alarm sounding to provide police backup support in the event of an actual emergency.

“We get there as quick as we can,” he said. The nature of the police response to such an alarm is dependent upon the nature of the alarm, he said.

“Your home is your castle. When people break in, you’re violated. We want to prevent this,” Capt Rios said.

Most often, an alarm sounding represents some type of malfunction occurring with an alarm system, he said.

Sometimes, an alarm system user employs an improper alarm code and thus inadvertently triggers the alarm, he said. Sometimes an alarm system malfunctions due to wind conditions or due to the activity of a pet within a house, he said.

Often, false alarms occur due to human error, he said.

Repeated false alarms emanating from the same address create a distraction for police, the captain said. “It really drains our resources,” he said, adding that responding to false alarms draws police away from their other enforcement duties.

Responding to false alarms may involve police entering an unoccupied residence to check for the presence of intruders, he said.

Police want alarm system owners work with their alarm system companies to resolve the technical problems which create false alarms, he said.

Capt Rios urged residents with questions on crime prevention to contact police at 426-5841 and request to talk to a crime prevention officer.