The Tempe Police Department is proposing stiffer penalties for businesses that mistakenly set off their security systems, as a means to repay the time and money spent responding to false alarm calls.
A report prepared by Tempe Police Assistant Chief Brenda Buren and Mary Anders of the crime analysis unit recommended charging annual renewal fees for Tempe businesses with alarm permits, citing similar fees in other Valley cities. Right now, the initial permit fee is $10.
The report advises to add a renewal fee of $10 or to raise the initial fee to $15 and add a renewal charge of $15. Tempe Police staff officially recommended the latter option.
The report also recommended cutting the number of false alarms allowed without sanctioning fees from two to one per year.
Together, the measures would generate anywhere from $175,000 to $240,000 annually, which would be used for cost recovery, according to the report.
Tempe Police Alarm Unit administrative assistant Sandra Miller said false alarms, usually caused by inadequate staff training by business owners, present a major nuisance and distraction to police officers.
“Any alarm we’re dispatched to that’s false takes officers away from where they need to be,” Miller said. “The fees are in place to deter people and make them get to know their system.”
According to the report, 86 percent of alarm calls responded to by Tempe police officers in 2007 turned out to be false alarms.
Mike Jennings, owner of the Campus Corner store on College Avenue and University Drive, said false alarms hurt businesses as well.
Jennings said the convenience store sees false alarms about once or twice a year, which keeps the police from taking alarms very seriously.
“It’s kind of a ‘boy who cried wolf’ situation because the police seem to assume it’s false,” Jennings said. “I see why, but it would be nice if they didn’t.”
Jennings said human error was the most common cause of false alarms, which usually occur when an employee sets the alarm improperly.
ADT Security Systems service coordinator Kayla Hathcock said the high rate of false alarms in Tempe is not unusual. Hathcock also cited user error as the most common cause.
“A lot of times, the business has a cleaning crew that doesn’t know how to work the alarm,” Hathcock said. “Normally, we’ll send a technician out to train people to use [alarms], but people still make mistakes.”
The best way for home and business owners to prevent false alarms is to know how to use the system and test it once a month to make sure it is functioning properly, Hathcock said.
Sharla Hartgraves, who co-owns Tempe clothing store Here On the Corner, said alarm companies could do more to maintain the equipment.
“I feel like, for the amount of money we pay, [alarm companies] could check on the equipment every six to eight weeks,” Hartgraves said.
Hartgraves added she has no problem with the change in the fee structure.
“We have the responsibility to train our employees,” she said. “We need to share responsibility with the police.”
Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu.
