False alarms costly in police time, money

The Maricopa Police Department estimates it responds to an average of 130 call false alarms a month.

“It’s our No. 1 call for service,” Officer Ricardo Alvarado, Maricopa Police Department public information office, said Monday.

And, he said, it costs in time, effort and money.

The department spends up to $50,000 a year responding to false alarms, with the responding officers’ time in salary accounting for most the cost.

“We’ll take at least two officers for safety,” Alvarado said.

Generally, the police are called by alarm companies after a residential or business alarm has been accidentally set off. Sometimes alarms are triggered by user error such as when the owner opens a door after setting it or a pet inadvertently sets off a motion sensor, but other times it’s the weather or a reason that remains a mystery.

“We sometimes never know what set them off,” said Rebecca Molus, the MPD management analyst who also approves alarm permits.

Once on site, officers park a distance away from the building, secure the perimeter and, if there is a door or window open, possibly enter the structure to secure it as well, Alvarado said. And since the officers are required to verify the owner of the triggered alarm, they sometimes have to wait for the owner to arrive.

“It’s time consuming for the officers to be off the street and wait for an alarm call,” Alvarado said, adding that a call could take 30 to 45 minutes.

And not only does it cost the city money, but if the police have to respond to the same residence or business enough times, the owner could face a list of fees.

Maricopa has a city ordinance requiring alarm owners to have a permit. The permit costs $10 and is renewed annually.

If an alarm owner does not have a permit in place, he or she will be charged a $71 cost-recovery fee, a $25 failure-to-permit fee and a $10 permit fee.

However, if the recipient of the charges pays the $10 permit fee, the other charges are waived.