False alarms from security systems will cost residents

Date: 27/03/2005
Source: Baltimore Sun
Author: Melissa Harris

When Tom McKillip punched the code to deactivate his neighbors' security system one day, he heard what every cat-sitter dreads: The alarm blaring "louder than a fire engine," he said.

The security company called, but he didn't have the cancellation code for the Turf Valley home. He convinced the company to turn off the siren by suggesting that if he was a burglar, would he still be on the phone?

McKillip fed the cats, and as he walked out the door, two officers arrived.

Howard County police are trying to avoid this scenario. So, beginning Friday, residents will pay for false alarms.

After a third false alarm within a year, police will fine the resident $50. That fine can be waived after completing a short online course, but a fourth mistake will result in a $100 fine.

After the fifth one, the county will require the alarm company to inspect the system, and the resident must pay a $150 fine. Fines will escalate $50 each time up to $1,000.

If the alarm system is not registered with the county, the resident will be fined $200 on the first false alarm.

"When an officer responds to a false alarm, he has to be taken away from something else, and a backup officer has to go with him or follow him in case there's trouble," said Rex Bell, vice president of the False Alarm Reduction Association, a national group based in Silver Spring. "Only about two out of 100 of these calls [nationwide] are true alarms. It's a tremendous drain on man-hours and money."

Howard County's false-alarm law has been on the books for three years, but police weren't able to begin residential enforcement until they entered data on about 14,000 registered alarms into their computer system, said Sgt. Ann Gibbons, who is leading the effort.

Gibbons' false alarm reduction unit has issued 477 fines against businesses since commercial enforcement began in April of last year. She said human error causes most of them.

Examples from commercial and residential include new employees who are unfamiliar with the system, flapping drapes, pets, guests, maids, pet-sitters, parents in a hurry to get children in the house, or users not knowing how much time they have to enter the code or not realizing how much time has passed.

"About 79 percent of false alarms are caused by people not really understanding how to use the system," said Bell, of the false alarm association, which was established in 1997 and is made up of government and public safety agency officials. "They know how to turn it on and turn it off, and that's about it."

Howard County responds to just under 20,000 false alarms every year. About one-quarter of registered alarms are chronic problems, meaning they go off three or more times a year.

Experts said that enforcement should drastically reduce that problem.

Reduced calls

Montgomery County police began enforcing its law in 1995. During the past decade, responses to false alarms dropped more than 55 percent, from 42,821 in 1994 to 19,190 in 2004.

Fines in Montgomery begin after the second false alarm, and an inspection is required after the third one. After the sixth, residents and businesses are required to upgrade the system to the county's standards.

If fines aren't paid or inspections and upgrades aren't done, officers won't respond, said Norma Beaubien, director of Montgomery County's program.

In Howard, however, police will always respond, Gibbons said.

'A positive thing'

The program also should improve service from security companies.

If fines escalate, mandatory service calls will help boost the system's efficiency. And residents will take more time training themselves and their guests on the system.

"We think this is a positive thing because it holds the homeowner and also the alarm company accountable for proper installation and use," said John Grab, a sales manager for Vintage Security of Jessup. "The last thing a homeowner or Vintage wants to do is waste the time of the police department."

This article may be reproduced as long as the source Footprint Home Security is provided as a link.

Back to Free Expert Advice

Back to Footprint Home Security