False alarm fines are soon to be real

A silent holdup alarm at a Grocery Outlet on Tuesday sent Spokane police scurrying to the business. But the officers’ response wasn’t necessary; it was a false alarm.

This time, law enforcement’s alarm response was free.

But after the first week in May, such unnecessary action will cost the business $150. If the false silent or audible alert comes from a residence, the fine will be $75.

Spokane police are called out to about 19 false alarms per day or 7,000 annually. The alarm-reduction program passed by City Council last year becomes effective between May 1 and 7. Police say that ending false alarms would be like putting an extra 4.5 officers on the street.

“False alarms take officers away from responding to high priority calls, real emergencies and other citizen calls for assistance,” Cpl. Tom Lee said. “They are also expensive. A typical alarm requires 1.2 hours of police officer time. That equates to a cost of $125 per alarm or nearly $875,000 a year for responding to false alarms.”

Businesses and homeowners who have monitored security systems will start receiving registration forms in the mail next week. The registration requires an annual fee of $25 for residential alarms and $35 for businesses.

Charging those with monitored security systems allows the Police Department to collect the cost of responses to false alarms, Lee said.

Of the alarm calls that police dispatchers receive, 98 percent turn out to be false, said Lt. Glenn Winkey, who is in charge of Spokane police communications. “If we don’t do anything about false alarms now, they are going to go up and up.”

Spokane modeled its ordinance after Olympia’s, Winkey said. That program began nearly a year ago and has reduced false alarms by nearly 70 percent.

Tommy Bourcy, service manager for Allied Fire & Security and chairman of the Eastern Washington chapter of the Washington Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, helped police when they were considering options for reducing unnecessary alarm responses to homes and businesses.

He said the most common cause of a false alarm is a failure to understand how the alarm works.

“This ordinance is a tool that forces more people to pay attention to what they are doing,” Bourcy said. “If there’s no cost, there’s no incentive for them to change their behavior.”

Bourcy was inundated with calls Tuesday after news about the new ordinance was broadcast. Allied Fire & Security has about 2,000 customers in Spokane.

Part of Bourcy’s explanation to his customers was that at least there will still be a police response, which has ceased in some cities.

In Yakima, before officers will respond to a home or business, a third party, usually from a private security company, must confirm there’s an emergency.

Spokane abandoned a previous false alarm ordinance in September 2004. It was similar to Spokane County’s current ordinance in which there is no fine until a third false alarm. Then, the fee is $66. The fourth time it’s $114, and the fifth $209.

The problem the city had with that type of ordinance was there were too many ways for people to get out of paying the fine, Winkey said.

Spokane police have been trying to prepare residents for the new ordinance by leaving warnings at homes where they’ve responded to false alarms. But the grace period ends the first week in May, with a few exceptions.

“If we (police dispatchers) receive a cancellation within five minutes of the alarm, they won’t be charged,” Winkey said.

Also, if the alarm sounds because of a monitoring alarm company’s error, the user can recover the fine from the alarm business.

Spokane police urge homeowners and businesses to prevent false alarms by reviewing passwords with family and employees, Lee said. Review how to turn your system off and on, and keep it in good working condition.