Police Scrap Policy of Ignoring Silent Alarms : Safety: Riverside officers did not respond to an alleged rape because the victim had not paid a fee for her system. They now call it a ‘terrible mistake.’

Amid controversy over their delayed response to an alleged rape because the woman did not have a permit for her home alarm, Riverside police have rescinded the policy under which officers initially ignored her request for help, police said Tuesday.

Calling the policy a “terrible mistake,” Capt. Richard Dana said Tuesday that it was promptly rescinded after a March 13 incident in which officers failed to respond to a silent alarm triggered by a 38-year-old Riverside woman who allegedly was beaten and raped in her garage.

When the woman pushed the alarm button after returning from shopping about noon, it activated a signal at a private security company, which in turn notified the Police Department. However, when Riverside officers determined that the woman had not paid a $25 fee to register her alarm with the city, they decided--in accordance with his own policy directive--not to respond, Dana said.

Police later responded after a neighbor reported hearing a woman’s scream at the home, located near La Sierra University. Dana estimated that about 20 minutes elapsed between the initial alarm and police’s response to the neighbor’s telephone call.

“As soon as I found out what had happened, I canceled the policy,” said Dana, a 17-year-veteran of the department. “I feel horrible about it. I’m the one who made the mistake and interpreted the policy that way. It was just plain wrong.”

Riverside police did not release the identity of the woman, who was treated at an area hospital. The investigation into the incident is expected to last at least another week, police said.

Last spring, the Riverside City Council passed an ordinance establishing the $25 alarm permit fee as a means of reducing the estimated 1,400 false alarms that police respond to monthly.

While many cities require homeowners or business owners to pay alarm fees similar to Riverside’s, their policies differ on whether to respond to non-registered alarms.

In Los Angeles, where individuals pay a $31 annual fee, police do not respond to alarms “if there is not a permit on file,” according to a Police Commission spokesman. However, in San Diego, police “generally respond to silent ‘panic’ alarms” even if the individual triggering it has not paid the required $25 biennial fee, according to spokesman Bill Robinson.

“In a situation like the one in Riverside, we’d have gone out,” Robinson said.