False dispatch calls to alarms dropped in Los Angeles by 60% from 2003-2011. That’s great news for the electronic security industry, not just for the city and state. Why?
The city sets many trends. We’re tremendously encouraged about this one because stopping response to all alarm systems is not necessary, it says that the alarm management tools we preach over and over and over are successful.. If you put them in place and enforce them, the results will follow. If you do business in Detroit, our approved measures will get the job done. If you operate in Denver, the model ordinance and its provisions will provide success.
Look at the numbers. The city fielded fewer than 42,000 false dispatch calls in 2011 compared to 102,000 in 2003 before the new policy went into effect. What’s in the policy? Simple: Follow our recommended best practices in our model ordinance and enforce it!
We worked with the California Alarm Association years ago when the local association (GLASSA) and the task force in Los Angeles decided on what steps to take. We were in our infancy as an organization, so it’s great to see proof eight years later – really big proof – that what we recommended then and today is making a huge difference reducing unnecessary alarm calls.
A spokesperson for the LA Police Commission said the LA Police Department wins because it frees up resources for other crime fighting opportunities, and citizens win because customers don’t get charged on the first false call. We couldn’t agree more.