Montgomery County Police
False Alarm R
As
requir
False
Alarm Tracking and Billing
Bas
Exhibit
C is an alarm comparison chart that provides a breakdown for banks, commercial
and residential alarm calls for 1994 and 1995.
This chart shows that commercial alarm users r
The
FARU began sending notices of false alarms to alarm users in mid-March,
1995. It is estimat
Of
the total 40,967 alarm calls receiv
Revenue
|
FY95 |
ESTIMATED |
ACTUAL |
|
Total Registration Fees
Residential Commercial |
$
90,750 |
$176,740
$140,120
$ 36,620 |
|
Total Response Fees (For alarms in CY1995)
Residential Commercial |
$800,000 |
$
91,840
$ 8,750
$ 83,090 |
|
Total Alarm Business License Fees |
$
30,000 |
$
35,100 |
|
TOTAL |
$920,750 |
$303,680 |
False
alarm response fees are incurr
|
CALENDAR YEAR 1995 |
Commercial |
Residential |
Alarm Business |
Total |
|
Registration Fees |
$ 39,110 |
$161,270 |
N/A |
$200,380 |
|
Response Fees (CY 1995 Alarms) |
$362,435 |
$ 67,495 |
N/A |
$429,930 |
|
Alarm Business License Fees |
N/A |
N/A |
$35,400 |
$ 35,400
|
|
TOTAL |
$401,545 |
$228,765 |
$35,400 |
$665,710 |
As
false alarm calculations run concurrently with each calendar year, in order to
gain a better perspective on actual revenues collect
Computerization
of False Alarm Tracking and Billing System (FATB)
In
an effort to begin enforcing the section of the alarm law that provides for
tracking and billing of false alarms, which is the greatest incentive to false
alarm r
The
Final Operating Capability (FOC) came on-line in October, 1995. The FOC application provides for an efficient
and timely manner of registering alarm users, licensing alarm businesses,
tracking of and billing for false alarms, report and notice generation, and tracking
false alarm appeals. The FOC application
is an extremely complex custom software package, written in Visual Basic for
operation on a Windows NT Client Server platform. There are approximately 98 tables, 4385 data
elements, 50 views, 27000 lines of database code, and 40000 lines of interface
code. The FOC application has sav
The
FOC application was deliver
The
second module was deliver
The
third and final module of the FOC system was deliver
CAD/FARU
Interface
As
you know, the FARU has been working for approximately two years trying to get
the electronic interface between the County's CAD system and the FARU system
operational. The biggest obstacle to
completion of this interface is the CAD vendor, PSSI, and its unwillingness or
inability to perform work in a timely manner.
At this time, the electronic interface is still not operational. However, great strides have been accomplish
Initial
work on the portion of the interface that allows the FARU to transfer
registration and licensing information to CAD is complete, as is the portion of
the interface that allows CAD to read registration, licensing, and penalty
status information. FARU data is
download
Another piece of the interface that
is complete is the modification to the Catalog Alarm Screen, which will be
utiliz
The
portion of the interface that allows CAD to transfer alarm call data to the
FARU has been written on both the CAD and FARU ends, but has not yet been test
Informal
False Alarm Appeals
Section
10, False Alarm Appeal Process and Filing Fee, of Executive Regulation
46-93AMII, Policies, Proc
FARU
staff spend an inordinant amount of time reviewing, investigating and providing
decisions on appeals. The vast majority
of appeals require some type of investigation by FARU staff members. Typically, the ECC logs for appeal
In
calendar year 1995, a total of 1330 alarms were appeal
Appeal
|
|
Appeal |
Grant |
Deni |
Unresolv |
|
Commercial |
435 |
98 |
268 |
69 |
|
Residential |
895 |
161 |
636 |
98 |
|
Total |
1,330 |
259 |
904 |
167 |
Generally,
appeals were grant
General
Statistical Data
Registrations
As
of December 31, 1995, there were a total of 36,436 (29,387 residential and
7,049 commercial) alarm users register
Inspection and Upgrade Certificates
The
following charts reflect the number of residential and commercial alarm users
that reach
Inspections
Requir
|
Type |
Request |
Perform |
Not
Perform |
Compliance Rate |
|
Commercial |
1659 |
1059 |
600 |
63.8% |
|
Residential |
1519 |
989 |
530 |
65.1% |
|
Total |
3178 |
2048 |
1130 |
64.4% |
Upgrades
Requir
|
Type |
Request |
Perform |
Not
Perform |
Compliance Rate |
|
Commercial |
206 |
103 |
103 |
50.0% |
|
Residential |
19 |
7 |
12 |
36.8% |
|
Total |
225 |
110 |
115 |
48.8% |
Alarm Users in Violation (Non-Response) Status
The
following charts reflect the number of alarm users that were plac
Violation
(Non-Response Status)
|
Type |
Failure to Pay Response Fee |
Reinstatement After Compliance |
Compliance Rate |
|
Commercial |
210 |
102 |
48.5% |
|
Residential |
89 |
39 |
43.8% |
|
Total |
299 |
141 |
47.1% |
Violation
(Non-Response Status)
|
Type |
Failure to Upgrade
System |
Reinstatement After Compliance |
Compliance Rate |
|
Commercial |
43 |
3 |
6.9% |
|
Residential |
2 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
Total |
45 |
4 |
8.8% |
|
Type |
Failure to Both Pay Response Fee
& Upgrade |
Reinstatement After Compliance |
Compliance Rate |
|
Commercial |
62 |
12 |
19.3% |
|
Residential |
8 |
1 |
12.5% |
|
Total |
70 |
13 |
18.6% |
|
Type |
Failure to Register |
Reinstatement After Compliance |
Compliance Rate |
|
Commercial |
107 |
32 |
29.9% |
|
Residential |
73 |
17 |
23.3% |
|
Total |
180 |
49 |
27.2% |
Alarms by Count
Attach
Attach
Comparison
With Other Jurisdictions Having Non-Response Provisions
A
request was made to include in this report a comparison of Montgomery County's
alarm law with other jurisdictions that had enact
Alarm
laws in other jurisdictions do not, for the most part, require the intensive
alarm company participation, but rather, place the entire burden of false
alarms on the individual alarm user.
There is a wide array of alarm laws throughout this country that contain
provisions for fining alarm users for excessive false alarms and provide for
non-response. Only one other
jurisdiction in the country has an alarm law that closely mirrors Montgomery
County's; namely, Prince George's County.
(Prince George's County has not yet start
The
following three jurisdictions have a non-response alarm law. Each jurisdiction has provid
Houston, Texas
1. Residential and Commercial alarm users
must obtain a permit, which is renew
2. Alarm businesses must provide the alarm
user's permit number to the Houston Police Department. Failure to do so will result in a
non-response.
3. Alarm users are allow
4. Only a burglar alarm permit may be
revok
5. Original alarm law enact
#
of False Rate of
Year Alarms
R
1992 143,415
1993 138,257 -3.5%
1994 123,142 -10.9%
1995 109,878 -10.7%
Miami, Florida
1. Requires registration of an alarm
system with the Metro-Dade Police Department before requesting police response
to alarm activations.
2. Alarm users are allow
3. May deny response if an alarm user fails
to have a requir
4. Original alarm law enact
#
of False Rate of
Year Alarms
R
1990 99,606
1991 94,075 -5.5%
1992 88,026 -6.4%
1993 84,863 -3.6%*
1994 100,568 +18.5%
(*I was inform
Multnomah County, Oregon
1. Residential and Commercial alarm users
must obtain a permit, which is renew
2. Alarm users are allow
3. Original alarm law enact
#
of False Rate of
Year Alarms
R
1991 24,692
1992 21,401 -13.3%
1993 20,490 - 4.2%
1994 18,606 - 9.2%
1995 19,280 + 3.6%
Recommendations
Bas
1. Chapter 3A, Alarms, Sec.
3A-6(c), requires an alarm user to have the alarm system inspect
2. Chapter 3A, Alarms, Sec.
3A-6(c), also requires that the above-referenc
3. Chapter 3A, Alarms, Sec. 3A-11,
requires the County Executive to report to the County Council on the
implementation of the alarm law by January 1 of each year. Alarm statistics for November and December
are not available until after January 1 of each year. As such, if the report was made by January 1,
it would be incomplete and would not contain a complete picture of the full
year implementation. This Section should
be amend
4. Executive Regulation 46-93AMII, Section
8, sets the alarm user registration fee at $30.00. Alarm users have register
5. Executive Regulation 46-93AMII, Section
10, details the process alarm users must follow in order to appeal the Police
Department's determination that an alarm signal was, in fact, a false
alarm. Alarm users may appeal first and
informally to the FARU. The appeal must
be fil
Exhibit
C
|
|
Bank 1994 |
Bank 1995 |
% Change |
Comm 1994 |
Comm 1995 |
% Change |
Resid 1994 |
Resid 1995 |
% Change |
Total 1994 |
Total 1995 |
% Change |
|
Jan. |
119 |
84 |
-29.4% |
1770 |
1509 |
-14.7% |
1994 |
1706 |
-14.4% |
3883 |
3299 |
-15.0% |
|
Feb. |
82 |
84 |
+2.4% |
1345 |
1462 |
+8.7% |
1571 |
1758 |
+12.0% |
2998 |
3304 |
+10.2% |
|
Mar. |
83 |
75 |
-9.6% |
1307 |
1352 |
+3.4% |
1745 |
1915 |
+9.7% |
3135 |
3342 |
+6.6% |
|
Apr. |
116 |
96 |
-17.2% |
1318 |
1456 |
+10.5% |
2081 |
2085 |
+.2% |
3515 |
3637 |
+3.4% |
|
May |
95 |
105 |
+10.5% |
1431 |
1432 |
+.06% |
2123 |
1943 |
-8.5% |
3649 |
3480 |
-4.6% |
|
June |
107 |
75 |
-29.9% |
1595 |
1375 |
-13.8% |
2370 |
2053 |
-13.4% |
4072 |
3503 |
-14.0% |
|
July |
99 |
122 |
+23.2% |
1768 |
1438 |
-18.7% |
2571 |
2370 |
-7.8% |
4438 |
3930 |
-11.4% |
|
Aug. |
73 |
94 |
+28.8% |
1620 |
1369 |
-15.5% |
2449 |
2306 |
-5.8% |
4142 |
3769 |
-9.0% |
|
Sept. |
83 |
89 |
+7.2% |
1398 |
1235 |
-11.7% |
2076 |
1744 |
-16.0% |
3557 |
3068 |
-13.7% |
|
Oct. |
72 |
92 |
+27.8% |
1492 |
1289 |
-13.6% |
1886 |
1909 |
+1.2% |
3450 |
3290 |
-4.6% |
|
Nov. |
64 |
79 |
+23.4% |
1513 |
1185 |
-21.7% |
1994 |
1699 |
-14.8% |
3571 |
2963 |
-17.0% |
|
Dec. |
87 |
115 |
+32.2% |
1518 |
1387 |
-8.6% |
1921 |
1880 |
-2.1% |
3526 |
3382 |
-4.0% |
|
Total |
1080 |
1110 |
+2.8% |
18075 |
16489 |
-8.8% |
24781 |
23368 |
-5.7% |
43936 |
40967 |
-6.7% |
Exhibit
F
|
Number of False Alarms |
Commercial |
Residential |
Total |
|
0 |
2352 |
18116 |
20468 |
|
1 |
4697 |
11271 |
15968 |
|
2 |
2699 |
4153 |
6852 |
|
3 |
1435 |
1171 |
2606 |
|
4 |
1113 |
668 |
1781 |
|
5 |
763 |
292 |
1055 |
|
6 |
490 |
128 |
618 |
|
7 |
331 |
50 |
381 |
|
8 |
217 |
19 |
236 |
|
9 |
145 |
9 |
154 |
|
10 |
109 |
7 |
116 |
|
11 |
75 |
6 |
81 |
|
12 |
49 |
3 |
52 |
|
13 |
35 |
1 |
36 |
|
14 |
30 |
2 |
32 |
|
15 |
24 |
2 |
26 |
|
16 |
18 |
1 |
19 |
|
17 |
11 |
|
11 |
|
18 |
11 |
|
11 |
|
19 |
8 |
|
8 |
|
20 |
5 |
|
5 |
|
21 |
5 |
|
5 |
|
22 |
4 |
|
4 |
|
23 |
2 |
|
2 |
|
24 |
2 |
|
2 |
|
25 |
2 |
|
2 |
|
26 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
27 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
28 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
29 |
1 |
|
1 |
Exhibit
G
|
# of
False Alarm |
Commercial Bill |
Commercial Collect |
Collection Rate |
Residential Bill |
Residential Collect |
Collection Rate |
|
4 |
1113 |
948 |
85.1% |
668 |
552 |
82.6% |
|
5 |
763 |
632 |
82.8% |
292 |
219 |
75.0% |
|
6 |
490 |
381 |
77.7% |
128 |
86 |
67.2% |
|
7 |
331 |
247 |
74.6% |
50 |
29 |
58.0% |
|
8 |
217 |
153 |
70.5% |
19 |
6 |
31.6% |
|
9 |
145 |
99 |
68.3% |
9 |
1 |
11.1% |
|
10 |
109 |
76 |
69.7% |
7 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
11 |
75 |
49 |
65.3% |
6 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
12 |
49 |
32 |
65.3% |
3 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
13 |
35 |
21 |
60.0% |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
14 |
30 |
16 |
53.3% |
2 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
15 |
24 |
11 |
45.8% |
2 |
1 |
50.0% |
|
16 |
18 |
4 |
22.2% |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
17 |
11 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
18 |
11 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
19 |
8 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
20 |
5 |
0
|
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
21 |
5 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
22 |
4 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
23 |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
24 |
2 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
25 |
2
|
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
26 |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
27 |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
28 |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|
|
29 |
1 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
|