The False Alarm Ordinance was passed by the City Council in April 2007. Enforcement began in August 2007. The False Alarm Ordinance was passed to reduce the number of false alarms Police Officers respond to. Two officers need to respond to each alarm even if it turns out to be a false alarm. They spend about 15 minutes at each false alarm call.
Number of Calls
In 2006 Police Officers responded to 4,200 alarm calls. Only 2% of those alarms resulted in an actual crime or an attempted crime. That means approximately 4,000 of those alarms were false alarms. The time spent by officers at false alarms means less time for them to spend with citizens or businesses that have an actual need to meet with officers.