Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Troy Police to Host an Alarm Users Seminar
On Tuesday, January 11, 2005 from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. the Troy Police Department will host an alarm users seminar. The seminar will be held at the Troy Community Center in Rooms 304-305. The Community Center is located on Livernois north of Big Beaver. City Ordinance requires every alarm user to register yearly with the Police Department. There is an annual $10.00 registration fee that must be paid by the 31st of January. The seminar will provide the opportunity to both register and pay the annual fee. In addition, representatives from several alarm companies that service this area will be on hand to demonstrate how to use alarm control panels and keypads in an effort to help reduce false alarms.
False alarms and the commensurate time away from legitimate law enforcement problems continue to represent a significant challenge on manpower. Although final numbers are not yet available, there were approximately 3823 burglary and robbery alarms in 2004 through November 30th. This is up over 700 since the same time period last year. Almost all of these were false.
In 2003 there were a total of 4653 burglary and robbery alarms. Of those, only 7 were actual break-ins, and 1 was an actual robbery. This represented 1665 hours of police response time, which is equivalent to 69 days. Most false alarms are the result of user error. An alarm user contacting their alarm company, advising them of the mistake, and canceling police response can significantly reduce time spent responding to these types of false alarms, as well as avoid false alarm fees.
The city has implemented a false alarm fee that becomes effective after the third false alarm at a location during a calendar year. Users are allowed up to two false alarms on their premises before having to pay the false alarm fee. The fee starts at $100.00 and can increase to as much as $500.00. Fees can be waived for up to 2 mechanical malfunctions each year with documentation that repairs have been made by a certified service provider. False alarms caused by power outages can also result in fees being waived. A $100.00 fee is automatically assessed when the Police Department responds to a false alarm at a location where the alarm user has failed to register. Registration provides the Police Department with the opportunity to obtain contact information for business owners and residents when officers investigating an alarm discover a condition that requires a response.
Yearly registration forms are sent out to alarm users that have registered in the past. New users need to contact the Police Department to get registered once service has been activated.
This seminar will provide a convenient opportunity for users not only to register, but also to become familiar with their systems through the assistance of service providers and avoid false alarms.
The goal of the Police Department is to provide prompt and quality service to the community. With the assistance of alarm users, we can devote police officers’ attention to benefit all the citizens of Troy.
For additional information, please contact Ms. Suzanne Stroinski of the Community Services Section at 248-680-7224.
False alarms and the commensurate time away from legitimate law enforcement problems continue to represent a significant challenge on manpower. Although final numbers are not yet available, there were approximately 3823 burglary and robbery alarms in 2004 through November 30th. This is up over 700 since the same time period last year. Almost all of these were false.
In 2003 there were a total of 4653 burglary and robbery alarms. Of those, only 7 were actual break-ins, and 1 was an actual robbery. This represented 1665 hours of police response time, which is equivalent to 69 days. Most false alarms are the result of user error. An alarm user contacting their alarm company, advising them of the mistake, and canceling police response can significantly reduce time spent responding to these types of false alarms, as well as avoid false alarm fees.
The city has implemented a false alarm fee that becomes effective after the third false alarm at a location during a calendar year. Users are allowed up to two false alarms on their premises before having to pay the false alarm fee. The fee starts at $100.00 and can increase to as much as $500.00. Fees can be waived for up to 2 mechanical malfunctions each year with documentation that repairs have been made by a certified service provider. False alarms caused by power outages can also result in fees being waived. A $100.00 fee is automatically assessed when the Police Department responds to a false alarm at a location where the alarm user has failed to register. Registration provides the Police Department with the opportunity to obtain contact information for business owners and residents when officers investigating an alarm discover a condition that requires a response.
Yearly registration forms are sent out to alarm users that have registered in the past. New users need to contact the Police Department to get registered once service has been activated.
This seminar will provide a convenient opportunity for users not only to register, but also to become familiar with their systems through the assistance of service providers and avoid false alarms.
The goal of the Police Department is to provide prompt and quality service to the community. With the assistance of alarm users, we can devote police officers’ attention to benefit all the citizens of Troy.
For additional information, please contact Ms. Suzanne Stroinski of the Community Services Section at 248-680-7224.
