City Council
MEETING DATE: 11/9/2016
TITLE:
Title
Update on Alarm Program, Permitting and False Alarm Fees
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FROM:
George Crum, Chief of Police
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff will provide an overview of the alarm program with vendor CitySupport LLC, which was just renewed for three years on January 27, 2016. CitySupport LLC performs the billing and reconciliation of alarm permits, permit renewals, false alarm billings and incorporating the Online Alarm Diversion Program.
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BACKGROUND:
During the period from 2005-2009, Cathedral City Police Department received 20,478 burglary alarm calls. Of those calls 56 alarms resulted in some type of report with 47 actual burglaries occurring. Approximately 99.98% of all the alarm calls received during this period were false alarms. All of these alarms were responded to by the Police Department at taxpayer's expense, costing an estimated $30,000 per year in wages/salaries and a loss of over 300 staff hours per year.
Since adopting the alarm program in August of 2010 there has been a reduction in burglary alarm calls. During 2011-2015, Cathedral City Police Department received 14,661 burglary alarm calls. When comparing the five year time span of alarm response calls 2005-2009 with responding to 20,478 burglary alarm calls to the second five year time span of burglary alarm response calls 2011-2015 with 14,661 burglary alarm responses. With 20,478 alarm responses to 14,661 alarm responses this is a difference of 5,817 fewer burglary alarm response calls. The primary objective of the alarm program was to reduce incidences of false burglary alarm responses and based on the data from 2011-2015 with 5,817 less burglary alarm responses, the alarm program has been very effective.
In FY 15/16 there were 1,755 false alarms and 557 new alarm licenses permitted. Each month community members obtain alarm permits and renew their alarms as they expire. By the decrease in false alarms received by th...
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