The primary reason that any alarm ordinance fails is due to a failure to enforce the ordinance. The number one reason an ordinance is not enforced is because the municipality is unable to get the alarm users registered. For these reasons many new ordinances require that all alarm companies with customers in the jurisdiction provide a list of their customers in a form dictated by the alarm administrator.
Some of these ordinances go one step further and require that a new list be provided on a periodic basis.
Virtually every jurisdiction that has either adopted non-response, or has considered a non-response position, had an ordinance that was passed but was never enforced. It is not unusual for an alarm company, or group of companies, to refuse to provide their customer lists to the alarm administrator. Without this information, how are the police supposed to identify who the alarm owners are?
In these cases, what would be the best way for a jurisdiction to address the registration process?
1. Companies must provide a customer list or be penalized.
2. Companies could optionally be responsible for all registrations and fee collection.
3. The Alarm Administrator simply stops response to any system that is not registered.
Do you have any other ideas on how to address this problem? Let us know by responding to this blog.