NCJ Number
175815
Journal
Sheriff Volume: 50 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 1998 Pages: 16-62
Date Published
1998
Length
2 pages
Annotation
In the past two decades, the rapidly increasing use of burglar alarm systems to protect homes and businesses has triggered a corresponding rise in false alarms; estimates indicate over 90 percent of all alarm calls made to law enforcement agencies are false or unfounded, and many sheriffs and police chiefs are concerned about the resources required to deal with the false alarm problem.
Abstract
Surveys show that most false dispatches, up to 75 percent, are caused by user error, with the remainder attributable to problems related to weather, equipment, technology, or installation. To reduce user error, the security industry is actively redesigning equipment and procedures to make systems as goof-proof as possible. The security industry also spends considerable money on consumer education. As for equipment problems, many older security systems are steadily being replaced by more reliable ones. In California, Florida, Illinois, and Washington, the Model States Program is being operated under the jurisdiction of the State Associations of Chiefs of Police in cooperation with the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. This program aims to develop a consensus and a working relationship between the law enforcement community and the alarm industry about causes of false dispatches and to reduce false dispatches by effectively identifying corrective actions (model ordinances, State licensing laws, community education, and software that can identify alarm malfunction histories and alarm owners who are chronic abusers). Responsibilities of participants in the Model States Program are listed, and the software used in the program is described.