Alachua County False Alarm Reduction Unit Nets Big Savings`
Florida’s Alachua County has become a model of how law enforcement officials can decrease the number of false alarms reported, which can save time and money, as well as improve community safety.
In Alachua County, as many as 99 out of 100 alarms are false, and often triggered accidentally by the same people consistently. In response to the overwhelming amount of false alarms, officers began the False Alarm Reduction Unit, an effort that has successfully reduced false alarms by 56 percent in the county.
Law enforcement agencies throughout the country struggle with false alarms which can divert officers from real crimes, and until now there had been no method of tracking repeat false alarm reporters and billing them. The Alachua County program uses a computer system that integrates alarm-call responses as well as tracks citations given for false alarms.
The initiative combines the computer system with free classes that teach alarm users how to avoid false alarms and tips on maintaining alarm systems. Alarm systems registered in the county are allowed one alarm call per year, and subsequent false alarms will be priced on a graduated payment basis.
The unit reports that now officers respond quicker to valid alarms, taxpayers are saving money, and overall the community is safer.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Sheriff (08/03) Vol. 55, No. 4, P. 28; Oelrich, Steve.
