False alarms are bogging down emergency services

[Overtime]

Burglary alarms and other monitoring systems used to be the purview of businesses, but today you can find them in most modern homes as well. All those additional systems on the network, means there's more false alarms as well. It's starting to cause an issue for emergency services in some cities, as they struggle to meet the increased demand.

It's lead some cities, such as the City of Upper Arlington, to require owners to obtain permits for their alarm systems. The city takes it one step further by also requiring them to register for their False Alarm Management System Portal, which will allow the city to track false alarms so they can better understand the impact they're having on emergency services and public safety.

What do you think of this idea? Are you required to obtain a permit to run your monitoring system?

 

[KayWard]

We aren't required to get a permit for a standard alarm system. I'm not sure why it's necessary. In my experience, the alarm doesn't automatically trigger a call to first responders, but instead contacts the owner and their emergency contacts, to let them know there's a possible issue. They will only call for help if you tell them too.

 

[JoeT]

In my experience, the alarm doesn't automatically trigger a call to first responders, but instead contacts the owner and their emergency contacts, to let them know there's a possible issue. They will only call for help if you tell them too.

I could easily see it happening. Imagine the neighbor hears the alarm and automatically calls 911, believing they are helping you. Many systems use an app, which enables you to get alerts anywhere. I'd say many people who receive false alerts about fires, floods, or thieves probably contact 911 before checking their cameras or heading back home.

OP, we don't need a permit for it, yet, but there's been talk about making it a part of the building codes. I imagine that it's only a matter of time before it's required.

 

[Overtime]

It's required here, but I believe most folks ignore it. Actually, I don't know anyone who pulled a permit for their alarm system other than businesses and offices. Until there's a consequence, I doubt homeowners will rush to apply.

 

[W3 Planning and Research]

Burglary alarms and other monitoring systems used to be the purview of businesses, but today you can find them in most modern homes as well. All those additional systems on the network, means there's more false alarms as well. It's starting to cause an issue for emergency services in some cities, as they struggle to meet the increased demand.

It's lead some cities, such as the City of Upper Arlington, to require owners to obtain permits for their alarm systems. The city takes it one step further by also requiring them to register for their False Alarm Management System Portal, which will allow the city to track false alarms so they can better understand the impact they're having on emergency services and public safety.

What do you think of this idea? Are you required to obtain a permit to run your monitoring system?

As a former 911 dispatcher from many years ago, I am OK with this. I think that tracking the systems is a good thing. Now, I will say I believe it should be free or minimal cost, mainly to obtain contact information for the permit itself. In the jurisdiction where we were at you were allowed to have 3 false alarms per year, which is honestly very generous. After that, you were charged for the police response on an escalating fee schedule which after a few more would reach $1,000 per police response. We always knew the problem systems and sometimes would have multiple activations per night. The problem lies in that the bad guys would know this and would trigger alarms repeatedly over a a night or two until everyone got tired of responding, then they would break in.