posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 11:50 AM
by
klehan
Enhanced Call Verification Reduces False Alarms by 40% in Eau Claire, WI
The fact the Eau Claire Police Department gets less funding per capita than most similarly sized departments in Wisconsin is something Police Chief Jerry Matysik is well aware of.
But he's also aware of the city's tight budget, and that finding money to hire more police officers anytime soon is highly unlikely.
As a result, Matysik says his department continually seeks ways to use officers' time more efficiently.
One huge success is that the city has reduced responses to false alarms by charging the businesses for unwarranted dispatches. This policy has reduced false alarms by about 40 percent as businesses fix malfunctioning alarms, Matysik said.
Police also require the alarm companies to first call the business owner to see if the alarm may have been tripped by mistake before contacting police, which has further reduced the false alarm workload.