Home security system false alarms may cost you
By: John Bispala 09/01/2006
A growing number of Camden residents have installed security alarm systems in their homes. Whether you have a home security system or not, you’ve probably been approached by sales people trying to get you to buy one or replace the one you already have, or just “change your signs, at no extra cost to you.” This means they’d like you to pay a monthly monitoring fee to them instead of to the company named on your current signs. There is a real jungle of home security system sales reps out there, and it’s fueled by the fears of area residents.
One thing you might not know is that home security system ‘false alarms’ can lead to big bucks in penalties that have to be paid to the City of Minneapolis. Everybody makes mistakes, and alarms are often set off by accident. Unless reported to the security company in time, police officers may get dispatched to your home to check out the cause. Furthermore, the most modern technology is no more perfect than people, and a malfunctioning security system can self-generate false alarms. Add all this to the fact that you might be away from home at a time when there is a loud enough noise caused by a pet or some other innocent event at your house. Since you are unable to report it as a false alarm, police officers may be dispatched.
From my own experience, the Minneapolis Police do come when dispatched, and it’s only in a matter of minutes! But beware - the police may not come at all if you’ve had over five false alarms in the calendar year.
A City of Minneapolis ordinance allows a homeowner two “free” false alarms that result in police being dispatched during the 12 months beginning January 1. The next false alarm will cost the homeowner a penalty of $200. The fourth false alarm will be $300, and the fifth will generate a penalty of $400, for a grand total of $900. After that, the residence involved will be placed on a ‘no response’ status.
The rationale for false alarm penalties being levied against homeowners starts with the reality that it certainly does cost something to dispatch police officers, and especially when they have more serious matters to attend to. In this day of “no new taxes” the City has to recover such policing costs from “user fees.” It’s too bad that every homeowner with a monitored security system isn’t yet paying a yearly license fee to help defray the policing costs.