Town Council Adopts a False Alarm Ordinance

Chief John Salvatore says police officers respond to about 1,280 false alarms a year, with two officers sent to each incident, using up approximately 22 minutes of time a piece for a total of 44 minutes away from their beats.

"Wouldn't people rather we do something else?" he asked, alluding to the time officers can spend on things like traffic enforcement and surveillance.

Salvatore asked the Town Council to pass a false alarm ordinance to cut down the number of false alarms by fining the chronic offenders. After months of wrangling over whether or not to charge alarm registration fees — the final version does not — and several revisions, the council approved an ordinance by an 8-1 vote Monday night.

"I would like to see a double digit percentage reduction within the first year," Salvatore said of the number of false alarms.

John Sokol, president of Casia (Connecticut Alarm & Systems Integrators Association), helped police in pursuing an ordinance. He was on hand Monday night in case council members had questions.

"I'm glad it passed," Sokol said. "It's going to be very helpful to the police here."

The ordinance requires all burglar alarm owners to register their systems with the police department and to renew it every year, so police have updated information in the event officers ever have to call the homeowner or the alarm company.

A number of residents complained about a proposed $25 one-time registration fee to pay for the record keeping, so the Town Council's Legislative & Administrative Committee eliminated it.

Though there is no registration fee, those who do not register and renew risk being slapped with a $100 fine for failing to do so.

But the committee made the fines kick in sooner. The fine structure is based on the number of offenses in the same year.

The first offense warrants a verbal warning, the second a $50 fine; the third, fourth and fifth false alarm a $75 fine; and the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth offense will result in a $100 fine. A tenth offense is a $250 fine.

The only concern some Town Council members had is the question of whether someone could obtain the registration records via the Freedom of Information Act. Law enforcement does not want information on which homes have alarms and which do not to fall into the wrong hands.

But Salvatore had said an FOI Commission representative gave him the informal opinion that a strong argument could be made that the information is "law enforcement sensitive," superceding the public's right to know.

Sokol mentioned one case in which someone tried to obtain pistol permit records and the FOI Commission denied it, erring on the side of law enforcement.

During a public hearing prior to Monday night's vote, the lone citizen who spoke was not convinced.

Kris Carpenter of Monroe said there can be no guarantee that the registration information will not be compromised, adding institutions such as banks and insurance companies lose information to hackers all the time.

Should something like this happen, Carpenter asked if the town is prepared to handle the legal liability.

Councilwoman Michele Mount supported the ordinance, but noted for the record that she is concerned about the protection of the registration information.

Councilman Chris Catropa was the sole dissentor in the 8-1 vote.

"I will be voting in opposition of this ordinance tonight," Catropa said. "I don't think the government should be involved in registering home appliances and making a list of sensitive information. The government is overstepping its bounds."