Security alarms, designed to protect homes and businesses, also have a downside, officials say.
False alarms cost the city of Phoenix millions of dollars and thousands of hours of police officers’ time, according to the police department’s Web site. In 2007, there were 49,805 false alarms, costing the city more than $4 million.
To lessen this problem, the Phoenix Police Department offers a False Alarm Prevention Program. The program, which was started in 1994, describes causes of false alarms and ways to prevent them, according to the Web site. It also provides education for those who own security systems.
Some common human and equipment errors are failing to secure doors and windows before setting an alarm or improper installation of motion detectors.
Although false alarms are upsetting, they are often caught by the security system. When a security system goes off, the alarm company calls the home or business. If there is no answer or verification that there is no danger, the alarm company sends the authorities, said an ADT Security Services employee.
For example, if something mistakenly sets off the alarm and no one is home to verify that there is no danger, the police will arrive at the house — which costs time and money.
False alarms are reported to the police daily, but the weekends seem to cause the most problems.
“[The number of false alarms] varies from day to day,” said Michelle Sels, a records clerk in the Phoenix Code Enforcement Unit. “On Fridays and Saturdays, there are hundreds of them.”
False alarms can also be costly to the homeowner or business. If an alarm owner has a permit for a security system but more than two false alarms within a year, any further false alarms would cost the owner $85 each, Sels said. With no permit, a false alarm will cost $85, even on the first occurrence.
To encourage the false alarm prevention program, the police department waives one $85 fee for those who attend a session, Sels said.
Sels said the program was created to free up police officers’ time.
“Unfortunately, we’re wasting a lot of officers’ time and taxpayers’ money,” she said. “If we all spent a little more time [with our systems], officers could be out there protecting us instead.”
The false alarm prevention programs are offered once a month on Tuesdays. The next session will be Nov. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Phoenix police headquarters, 620 W. Washington St.
Reach the reporter at jolie.mccullough@asu.edu.
