City Council
MEETING DATE: 11/9/2016
TITLE:
Title
Update on Alarm Program, Permitting and False Alarm Fees
End
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.
Body
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 the Police Department it is clear evidence that community members are maintaining their alarms in good working order and are being educated by their respective alarm companies on the operating components of the alarm system to avoid false alarms. This is a key objective to the alarm program to reduce false alarms and educate the community on maintaining their business and residential alarms in good working order.
Police Departments across the country are being asked to reduce already stretched budgets. For many departments, the reduction in budgets results in being unable to replace lost employees, purchase new equipment, and keep up with technological advances. The Cathedral City Police Department is no different, and is looking for ways to continue providing high levels of service to the community with consideration for the City’s budget. Law enforcement has long recognized the burden placed on a police department’s resources associated with responding to false burglary alarm calls.
On August 1, 2010, after careful research and consideration of national and local law enforcement alarm response policies, including current economic conditions throughout California and our lack of personnel to adequately respond to false alarms, the Cathedral City Police Department implemented a new Verified Alarm Response Policy (VAR). With the new VAR Policy, the Police Department continued to respond with highest priority to manually activated panic, duress, robbery, medical and fire alarms triggered by community members, while requiring visual non-police on-site verification of suspicious or criminal activity for all other mechanically activated burglar alarms before officers would respond.
Mechanically activated alarms are entry/motion alarms that rely on sensors to activate the alarm, and these types of alarms make up the majority of residential and business alarms that the Police Department encounters. On-site verification does not mean proving that a crime has been committed, only that there are suspicious visual signs, activities, persons, or vehicles associated with the residence or business with an active alarm.
The former VAR Policy was a positive way for Cathedral City Police to “do more with less” while coping with the current economic crisis and providing better service and response to emergency calls to the community, allowing current patrol staffing levels to focus on crime related issues. However, this policy raised some concerns from the community and alarm industry about exactly what types of alarm calls the Police Department would or would not respond to, and how this affects the underlying safety of our community. In order to address these concerns, the Police Department re-examined our ability to respond to all burglary alarms, and identified a solution that requires a cost recovery component, providing the necessary sworn personnel to adequately respond to alarms.
That solution was adopted in the FY 2011/2012 and a contract with Pyranet (now known as CitySupport LLC, dba CathedralCityAlarm.com) was executed.
DISCUSSION:
The current Cathedral City Municipal Code Security Alarm Systems Ordinance, Chapter 8.28, provides definitions, alarm regulations and false alarm fees imposed for excessive false alarms. Additionally, since January 2012 the City of Cathedral City has had an alarm permit fee ordinance.
Efforts have been made to bring awareness to, and deter habitual false burglary alarms from occurring by imposing fines which are established by the Cathedral City Municipal Code. The current false alarm fine schedule is graduated to address habitual false alarm offenders and recover costs associated with responding to false alarms.
The current Security Alarm Systems Ordinance requires all residential and business locations within the City with alarm systems to have a valid alarm permit. The permit fee guarantees a police response. The ordinance would also allow the City to impose fines for police and fire response to false alarms. The intention of the alarm ordinance is to reduce false alarms through educating the public on how to avoid these violations and by imposing a fine for any false alarms beyond the first violation. Under the modified ordinance, the first incidence of a false alarm does not result in a penalty. The second incidence requires a $100 fine; the third is $150 and then $200 for each false alarm thereafter (in any 12 months period). A second alarm in a 365 day period can be reduced from $100 to $25 by attending the 30 minute Online Alarm Diversion Program by CitySupport LLC.
In researching false alarm programs and policies, staff learned the Palm Springs Police Department had successfully utilized a private vendor to administer and manage their false alarm and alarm diversion programs. The vendor CitySupport LLC handles all aspects of alarm permitting from issuing and renewing permits to billing for false alarms, and administers the educational component in the form of an Online Alarm Diversion Program. CitySupport LLC has demonstrated successful implementation and management of the program in Palm Springs since 2006 and since January of 2012 with the City of Cathedral City.
CitySupport LLC at the time was the only vendor in the marketplace who was currently providing the type of service required to administer and manage the False Alarm Program. Prior to the 2012 contract, CitySupport LLC invested their own time and resources into creating an API with our Records Management System. In 2011, CitySupport LLC provided staff with a service contract proposal that meets the needs of the Department. Under this proposal, CitySupport LLC would issue and renew all residential and business alarm permits in the City, and provide billing for false alarms as established by City Ordinance. The Police Department will forward all false alarm information to CitySupport LLC on a daily basis, as a direct download from our Records Management System. The vendor generates and mails violations for false alarms within and established timeframe.
• CitySupport LLC receives $11 for every permit fee it collects and remits the remaining alarm permit fee balance back to the City.
• CitySupport LLC retains $15 of each false alarm fine CitySupport LLC retains 10% of false alarm fees
• If community members elect to take the Online Diversion Program, the City receives $11 of the $25 fee
The alarm permit fee was established by evaluating the costs associated with administering the alarm permit program, and is intended to fully recover all the City’s costs in connection to the program.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact to the City after the first year of the program in 2012 showed gross receipts totaling $92,160 from alarm fees and permits with net receipts to the City totaling $64,771.
The fiscal impact to the City for FY 15/16 showed gross receipts totaling $109,878 from alarm fees and permits with net receipts to the City of Cathedral City totaling $83,653.
ATTACHMENTS:
None