A LOOK AHEAD * Because 98% of burglar alarm calls are false, LAPD Chief Bernard C. Parks is exploring a new policy to. . . : Verify First, Respond Later

Los Angeles police would not respond to burglar alarm calls unless they are verified as genuine by a property owner or private security company under a controversial proposal by Chief Bernard C. Parks.

Parks, who is under pressure from the mayor to cut his budget, is exploring a dramatic change in the LAPD’s current response policy because false alarms from home and business security systems waste too much police time and money, department officials contend.

The LAPD now responds to more than 150,000 such calls a year, although 98% of them turn out to be false alarms, department officials said.

“These things cry wolf all the time,” said Lt. Charles Beck, who is studying the issue for the civilian Police Commission and the chief. “We’re dealing with such a low percentage of calls that are actually real problems. Something needs to be done.”

Beck said the annual response to alarms consumes the equivalent of 41 officers’ entire work year. In 1997, burglar alarm calls accounted for more than 17% of all calls for service to the LAPD.

Under the draft proposal being reviewed, alarm calls would have to be physically verified either by the property owner or alarm provider; or through alarms that have multiple sensors within a location, or the capacity through video or audio equipment to see or hear activity inside the location. The proposal would not apply to panic alarms, which people must activate. In those cases, police would automatically respond.

A number of representatives from the alarm industry oppose the proposal, saying that such verification would result in a financial burden for homeowners and smaller alarm businesses.

“It would be a big hardship for the alarm owners in particular,” said George Gunning, president of the California Alarm Assn. “I don’t think they would be able to afford alarms under those conditions.”

Gunning said the industry is moving toward new technology that ultimately will reduce the number of false alarms. He said the association is working closely with law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, but Parks’ plan would push the industry too fast.

“I don’t want to see the resources of the city I live in being drained either,” Gunning said. “But a proposal like this can be dangerous.”

Officials from at least one large security firm--which already provides patrol response services--said they support the LAPD plan.

“The police just can’t keep doing this,” said Doug Wankel, a spokesman for Protection One Inc. “We need to figure how best to handle this. [Parks’ proposal] makes all the sense in the world.”

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A similar response plan was proposed by then-Councilman Marvin Braude in 1994, but failed to gain enough support in the City Council. Parks, who supported the idea several years ago, is looking at reviving the proposal as a way to cut costs at a time when Mayor Richard Riordan has asked the department to cut its budget by 6%. Parks first raised the idea in a budget-related memo to the mayor.

“It’s an intriguing idea. It’s got some promise, but it’s far from being worked out in detail,” said Deputy Mayor Joe Gunn. He added that the mayor’s office will meet with department officials to discuss the proposal further.

Parks also met with alarm industry representatives last month to discuss the department’s problem with false alarm calls, but he did not reveal any specific plans. LAPD officials said they plan to hold further discussions with industry representatives.

According to police and alarm officials, false alarms are generally triggered by human error, faulty equipment or bad weather.

Because of the sheer number of unnecessary alarm calls, Beck said, police often let their guard down when they respond to alarms. Officers, he added, consider alarm calls a very low priority and their response times reflect it. On average, 40 minutes elapse between the time an alarm goes off and LAPD’s arrival on the scene.

If police knew there was a greater likelihood that the alarms were genuine, Beck said, the response times would improve significantly.

“There’s nothing cops like better than catching burglars,” he said.

The LAPD is not alone in its effort to address false alarm calls. Police agencies throughout the nation are grappling with how best to minimize the waste of money and time that such calls cause.

In Las Vegas, police have adopted a policy similar to Parks’. Officers respond only to an alarm if there is physical verification either from the property owner or alarm provider. Portland is poised to adopt a policy mirroring the proposal Parks is now considering, officials said.

The International Assn. of Chiefs of Police passed a resolution recently stating that false alarms take “police away from real emergencies.” The association vowed to work with the industry to find solutions to the problem.

Dave Saddler, a spokesman for the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Assn., said its members support some “reasonable” verification. He said the proposal under consideration by Parks may go too far.

“He’s taking it a step further than our association supports,” he said.

Some alarm industry representatives say that Los Angeles already has a good law in place addressing false alarms. Under an ordinance passed in 1996, alarm owners are allowed to have two false alarms a year before they are fined $80 by the city. The fines and permit fees--which are required of alarm owners--generated about $8 million in revenues last year. Additionally, alarm owners who have false calls may attend schools to educate them on how to properly use their alarm systems instead of being fined.

The city’s law requires police to respond to all alarm calls unless a telephone call by the alarm company to the alarm system owner determines that the call is false. If the call goes unanswered, the police are dispatched.

“The LAPD efforts to fight crime are weakened if they are frequently responding to chronic false alarm calls,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, who heads the council’s Public Safety Committee.

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Although the penalties slightly reduced the number of false alarms that occurred in 1997, more consumers are purchasing or leasing alarms as the systems become more affordable, officials said.

Currently, there are about 108,000 permitted systems within the city. And, with concern about crime still running high despite falling crime rates, it is likely that number will continue to grow. Nationally, the alarm industry is a $10-billion-a-year business.

“Alarms can be a valuable service,” Beck said. “But what is happening now is unconscionable.”