False Alarms to Cost Real Money

Glendale residents who repeatedly trip their burglar alarms by accident take note: That police officer who rolls up to your front door in response may cost you 62 cents a minute. If a police helicopter is summoned, it may cost you $3.57 for every 60 seconds the pilot hovers overhead.

The penalties, approved Tuesday by the Glendale City Council, are aimed at encouraging residents to repair faulty alarm systems and be more careful about accidental activations. They will also help cover police costs related to answering repeated false alarms.

The clock-watching fees may sound amusing--a police lieutenant is worth 12 cents a minute more than a sergeant, for example--but city officials say the diversion of officers to calls where no break-in has occurred is no laughing matter.

In a written report to the council, Police Chief David J. Thompson said his department responded to 6,022 false alarms in 1988 and 6,181 last year. He said these calls “represent a great drain upon already strapped police manpower and resources.”

The city allows two false alarms annually at no charge. Last month, the council increased the fines from a maximum of $35 to $100 for five or more in a year.

On Tuesday, the council approved a new “special assignment assessment” to be imposed in addition to the $100 fine for false alarms in excess of four in a single year.

The new law, which will take effect Sept. 20, states that the assessment will be computed at a “cost-per-minute rate,” specifying different charges according to the rank and assignment of the officer who responds. The top fee is $3.72 per minute for a police sergeant who also is the helicopter pilot. Police said responding to a false alarm typically takes 20 minutes.

During their first review last week, council members endorsed the new fee but balked at an accompanying police proposal to limit residents and businesses to one false alarm per year.

“I just think we ought to give them a couple of shots a year, then charge for it,” said Councilman Jerold Milner, whose motion to retain the two free responses annually was approved.

Mayor Larry Zarian cast the only opposing vote, saying a single free call would be a better deterrent. “We’re wasting police officers’ time in responding to false alarms,” he said.