Security Industry News >> EMERgency24 Inc.

Muncie, IN, Alarm Ordinance Drastically Cuts False Alarms

Nine years after the creation of a false alarm ordinance in Muncie, IN, the law has yet to generate much revenue for city government.

But that doesn't mean it is an ineffective law, according to officials.

David Miller, the Muncie fire department's chief fire investigator, said fire alarm owners are taking false alarm calls more seriously, correcting their alarm systems to avoid monetary penalties.

"Before they kind of blew it off," he said.

The law, approved by city council in 2000, fines property owners $150 for false fire and burglar alarms beginning with the owner's third violation at a given address in a calendar year.

At a recent Chat with the Mayor event, a firefighter asked whether the city was collecting the false alarm fees. His overall line of questioning centered around how the a $3.8 million budget shortfall would affect the fire department.

Mayor Sharon McShurley was unsure whether the fees were being collected, saying she had little time to deal with the issue given she had recently announced the layoff of 40 firefighters and the closure of two stations.

Turns out, the city is collecting the fees. There's just not much to collect.

So far this year, Muncie's police and fire department's have responded to 678 false burglar and fire alarms, according to Diana White, who administers the alarm tickets in the building commissioner's office. White estimated that burglar alarms accounted for more than 95 percent of the false alarms that pass her desk.

Of those 678 false alarms, only 30 were eligible for the $150 fine and all of those were in connection with burglar alarms.

White said 21 violators have paid their fines so far, generating $3,150 which is split between the city's general fund and police and fire departments.

The remaining nine will likely go to city court.

The city could generate a little more money by adopting stricter false fire alarm regulations more in line with other cities.

According to Brad Shipp, executive director of the False Alarm Reduction Association, many cities fine commercial property owners on the first violation.

On the other hand, Shipp noted, many of these same cities also exempt homeowners and state institutions, whereas Muncie's ordinance does not.

Muncie's burglar alarm provisions, which are the same as those governing false fire alarms, are also more strict than most, Shipp said.

Former councilman David Taylor, who proposed the ordinance, said he is not surprised related revenue has been relatively low. The whole purpose, Taylor said, was not to make money but to act as a deterrent.

"At the time, it was to keep down the calls," he said.

While Miller said he has seen fire alarm improvements in connection with the ordinance, Muncie Deputy Police Chief Roc Barrett was less encouraged about burglar alarms.

The Muncie police responded to 1,480 false burglar alarms in 2007, he said.

This year they are on the same pace.

But according to Barrett, there are too many unknown variables to determine whether the ordinance has been successful.

For example, Barrett said, more people might have bought burglar alarms since 2007. So even if police are responding to the same amount of alarms, the percentage of alarm systems that are generating false alarms would have gone down.

"You can't prove what you don't have the information for," he said.