False alarms, wasted time: Mounties changing response strategy for private alarms
Posted Feb 23, 2011 05:37:31 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will be implementing a new strategy to handle responses to personal security calls based on statistics showing the vast majority of calls are false alarms.
In 2009 and 2010, 98.8 per cent of calls to a business or residence were false alarms, resulting in the waste of more than 12,000 hours of time and resources.
“Often today, these alarm companies, the systems that they have can tell us if its a single-zone (alarm), multiple zone, internal sensor, door sensor or glass break, so we know right off the hop what we’re responding to,” Cpl. Dave Lilly told the Rick Howe Show Tuesday.
“We are looking for a verified response to single-contact alarms, so single-zone alarms,” explained Lilly. “That means there is no intrusion beyond the front door. It could mean the front door sensor has been activated.”
Lilly says a single-zone alarm can be set off if the owner forgets his or her code to disarm it, or by a faulty contact triggering a sensor. When this happens, police are dispatched even though no crime is being committed.
RCMP is looking for more communication between owners, alarm companies and police to verify that there is suspicious activity or that a crime is in progress.
Lilly explains multi-zone alarms will be responded to as usual.
“Glass break alarms, panic alarms, duress alarms, that’s business as usual,” he said. “We’re still responding to all of these alarms.”
The RCMP is in the consultation phase, and is looking for input from home and business owners on a strategy to reduce the number of alarm calls officers respond to annually. Between Feb. 22 and March 15, the public can give feedback on the strategy via an online form on the Nova Scotia RCMP website.
