HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980 03-19 City to 'get tough' on false alarms THE REVIEW City to 'get tough'
on false alarms
Last year the Maplewood police and fire false alarms within a six-month period. employee error.
departments received 660 mechanical The penalty will be charged for each false By establishing a penalty for the
burglar, robbery and fire false alarms. alarm over two during the six-month repeated false alarms, the department is
This high number of false alarms is timespan. hoping employers will train their staff on
expensive and requires a large amount of "We hope the ordinance will cut down how to better operate the alarm systems.
employee manhours, said Dick Schaller, on some of the places that chronically It is also hoped that places with faulty
director of the Maplewood Public Safety have high numerical false alarms," said alarm equipment will be more'motivated
Dept.To cut down on the number of false Schaller.
mechanical alarms, the Maplewood city He described a false alarm as any to get them repaired.
council recently adopted an alarm or- mechanical call for help which requires Persons with an alarm system installed
dinance,which went into effect March 15. police or fire protection response. "We anywhere in Maplewood other than a
The ordinance covers any alarm would not tolerate private citizens calling private dwelling,must apply for a license
requiring a public safety response. us for even half of the 660 mechanical no later than April 15. Individuals
Owners of self-installed alarms for false alarms we received last year. We soliciting, servicing or installing alarm
protection of their single-family dwellings just can't handle that many during a year. systems in the city must also apply for a
are exempted. "We treat each mechanical alarm as a license.
The ordinance will require businesses cry for help and try to respond to it as Applications for alarm systems or
selling alarms to pay an annual $50 quickly as possible. It is very businesses should be filed with the city
license fee. Businesses with alarms will discouraging and expensive to repeatedly clerk at the Maplewood Municipal
have to pay a $25 fee each year. rush out to a business only to find out it is Administration Building, 1380 Frost
To lower the number of false another false alarm."
mechanical alarms received by the Since the beginning of this year, one Avenue.Formoreinformation about the alarm
police,a penalty of$25 will be charged to business in Maplewood has had more than ordinance call the Maplewood police at
those establishments with three or more 10 false alarms.Five of these were due to 770-4535.