Florida
law aims to cut down on number of false security alarms,
By Nancy L. Othón
South
Florida Sun-Sentinel - September 5, 2006
A
new Florida law aimed at reducing the massive number of false
alarms that law enforcement officers must investigate requires
security companies to call two phone numbers before notifying
police.
Studies have shown that at least 95 percent of those calls are
false alarms.
The Alarm Association of Florida lobbied for the law partly to
stave off any talk that law enforcement would stop responding
to alarms altogether. Most false alarms happen because of user
error, said Bob Worthy, the association's treasurer.
"The industry has done quite a bit to reduce unnecessary
dispatches through manufacturing, putting some things in to the
panel that will help the user not make mistakes," said Worthy,
who owns the Coral Springs company Secure Technologies. "But
this movement of law enforcement to say `no more' was starting
to gain some speed."
Tests on the enhanced call verification system have made an immediate
35 percent to 40 percent reduction in false dispatches, Worthy
said. Some municipalities incorporated the system into their laws
and some alarm companies voluntarily made it policy, Worthy said,
but it wasn't enough.
Broward County Sheriff's spokesman Hugh Graf said false alarms
have long been a major concern, but his agency would never refuse
to respond to alarm calls as other agencies have.
"We're not going to turn our backs on an alarm," Graf
said. "Sure, as an agency we're very supportive of anything
that will free up our deputies to answer real calls. We're eager
to see how it works out."
Answering those false alarms isn't cheap for law enforcement.
Taking into account a deputy's salary as well as that of a dispatcher
who gets involved in a false alarm, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's
Office estimates false alarms costs taxpayers more than $3 million
a year, said Deputy Charles Mosher of the alarms-enforcement unit.
Last year, the Sheriff's Office responded to more than 60,000
alarms, Mosher said.
"What we're looking for is at least 30 [percent] to 40 percent
reduction in false alarms," he said. "Whether we realize
that goal or not, I'd be happy with 10 percent, but I'd be ecstatic
at 30 percent."
As a result of the "enhanced call verification" law,
homeowners must give their security companies alternate numbers,
such as their cell phone. Many security companies already have
multiple contact numbers for customers, but this law ensures they
don't immediately call for law enforcement if they don't get a
response from the homeowner on the first try.
The potential for delay, no matter how miniscule, gives Delray
Beach police Lt. Marc Woods pause.
"There are some areas where the two-phone-call system might
not be appropriate," Woods said. "I support all measures
to increase the care and maintenance of alarm systems to prevent
false alarms; however, there is a need to have immediate notification
under certain circumstances ... The time it takes to make two
phone calls could be problematic."
Woods cites the time of day or the location of the alarm call,
such as a jewelry store, as instances in which police would want
to respond as quickly as possible. Many home burglaries are committed
in the early-morning hours, Woods said.
"At 3 a.m., it could take a long time to answer the phone,"
Woods said.
The enhanced calling is not required if the home or business has
monitored cameras or audio equipment or sensors that verify an
alarm has been legitimately tripped, according to the law.
Delray Beach is in the process of rewriting its alarm law in an
effort to make homeowners more responsible, Woods said. The city
currently allows three alarm responses per year before imposing
a $25 fine. The fine likely will be raised in the new law, Woods
said.
Nancy L. Othón can be reached at nothon@sun-sentinel.com
or 561-243-6633.
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