Starting in February, alarm bells ringing in New Haven could mean extra dollars in city coffers.
After Feb. 28, a false burglar alarm in a home or business will result in a fine. The new penalty is the result of an ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen in November.
The ordinance requires people with alarm systems to register their system with the police department by Feb. 19. Failure to register also results in a fine. Registration forms are available at all police substations and can be downloaded off of the city’s website.
On Wednesday, police announced the February start date and released other details about the program.
The fines program is the result of a push by the police department to eliminate false alarms. Chasing after erroneous alarms costs the city a half-million dollars a year, the equivalent of 6 full-time cops, argued police spokesman Officer Joe Avery. See background here and here.
According to Avery, 10,000 to 12,000 burglar alarms go off in New Haven every year. Of those alarms, 96 percent are false, Avery said.
The new ordinance replaces a false-alarm law that had been on the books since 2004. That law, which had lower fines than the new one, had not been enforced for several years.
The new fine structure is as follows:
• Failure to register your alarm — $99
• First false alarm — free
• Second — $75
• Third — $150
• Fourth, etc — $250
Alarm owners can earn an additional free false alarm each year by attending a false-alarm prevention class offered by the police department. Avery encouraged all alarm owners to have their system checked by their alarm company and to make sure the company has the cell phone numbers.
The department has new software to keep track of alarm registrations, record false alarms, and bill offenders.
As part of the new fine system, alarm companies are required to call two people on a contact list provided by the alarm owner before reporting the alarm to police. This will cut down on the number of false alarms, since owners could have a neighbor check on the alarm before police are called, Avery said.
Avery dismissed concerns that double-checking by the alarm company would delay police arrival at the scene of a burglary. “It’s not a delay, really,” he said. Police rarely catch burglars in the act anyway, he said.
Another day, another scheme to fine taxpayers and residents of New Haven for a service we already pay for through extraordinary taxes, fines and fees. Did anyone from the PD tell the bank to get their alarm fixed? Was it actually broken?
Let's just clear something up here too. Responding to what ends up being a false alarm does not cost $500K a year. The cops are already on patrol and they simply roll over and see what's happening just as they do with any other call. What would the patrolman be doing if he wasn't checking out a false alarm?