posted on Friday, June 20, 2008 1:05 PM
by
klehan
South Brunswick, NJ, Considered Steeper Fines for False Alarms
Capt. Harry Delgado and South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka recently introduced
an ordinance in front of the Township Council that would place more stringent penalties
on owners of alarm systems that are triggered falsely.
Under the current law, a homeowner cannot be fined until the sixth false alarm. This
ordinance would allow people to be fined the first time it happens.
"Everyone would be responsible from the first alarm," Delgado said.
Delgado said false alarms are detrimental to the police department because they have to
allocate resources toward deploying police officers.
"According to the national figures, and these are accurate figures, an alarm requires
about 20 minutes of police time per officer," Delgado said. "We send two officers.
Depending on the salary range nationally, this costs between $36 and $100 per alarm."
"If most of the alarms were real, we wouldn't be talking," Delgado said. "It wouldn't be
a problem. Responding to alarms is a different type of call. It's a high-priority, high-
risk call. The likelihood of injury is significantly higher."
Councilman Joseph Camarota said he understands why this ordinance is being proposed but
wants it to be toned down a little.
"It's a little egregious in terms of the fines," Camarota said. "There are always
extenuating circumstances. I would like the police chief to be the administrator."
At the council meeting, Hayducka indicated that he would have full discretion over when
to apply the fines and would be open to not fining a person if the circumstances do not
warrant it.
Delgado said that after a homeowner has a first false alarm, he or she would go to an
"online school" to learn how to use his or her alarm system properly. The online program
would be free and is embedded into the ordinance.
"People should know [how to use it] when they purchase the equipment," Delgado said.
The issue was discussed at the June 3 and June 10 council meetings. If the ordinance were
passed, there would be a very comprehensive educational component to notify people of the
changes in the law, said Delgado. It would most likely go into effect January 2009, if it
were approved by the council.