posted on Friday, October 23, 2009 1:46 PM
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Cottonwood, AZ, Looks to Reduce False Alarm Dispatches
<p><a href="http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=33245" target="_blank">Cottonwood, AZ, Police and Fire Departments are trying to reduce the number of false alarms to which they chronically respond.</a><br>
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Police Chief Jody Fanning says cops were dispatched to 254 alarm calls during the first half of 2009, but that 251 were false alarms. The Cottonwood Fire Department went on 44 false alarms. "We have no recourse if the alarm sounds two to three times a night; officers go "lights and sirens.'" <br>
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The amended alarm ordinance, which had its first reading Tuesday, would not require contact with a "business owner' but a store or property manager. The number of false alarms would be a reduced before penalty would be assessed. The penalties would increase on the third and subsequent false alarm. Penalties would also be imposed if a business does not make available responsible party information. Unpaid penalties would be collectible before a business license could be renewed. <br>
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Fanning says the Police Department was called to the same business nine times on false alarms this year and 34 times in 2008. All of the alarms were false.<br>
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Officers responding to alarm calls build up stress of an "adrenaline dump" from a call, or suffer from "the boy who cried wolf" complacency, Fanning advised.<br>
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Under the new law, a business owner would be fined $50 for the third false alarm in a calendar year, $100 for the fourth call, $250 for the fifth and $500 for each subsequent false alarm.<br>
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