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Sioux Falls, SD, Considers False Alarm Fees

Bogus burglar and hold-up alarms in Sioux Falls, SD, are becoming such a nuisance for the Police Department that city officials might start charging a fee for responding to repeated unfounded reports.

It's a daily occurrence and, according to Officer Greg Schmidt, false alarms have been a problem in Sioux Falls for a long time.

"Our city is growing, and we continue to get more alarm users every day, so it's something that's going to increase in numbers as we grow in size," Schmidt said.

Police department officials are working to draft an ordinance designed to slash the number of false alarms. Details haven't been finalized, but officials plan to introduce a fine system, Schmidt said.

"We are hoping to get (false alarms) cut to a point that we don't have officers sitting at businesses when they could be out doing other calls, so calls don't stack up," Schmidt said.

On Aug. 8, for example, there were 14 false alarms.

Those false alarms add up to wasted time and resources. At least two officers respond to a burglar or hold-up alarm, and they treat each one like the real thing. For some calls, they must wait for an owner or employee to arrive to disarm the alarm.

And officers often must return to the same address multiple times. Addresses with more than one false alarm this year accounted for more than two-thirds of the bogus alarm calls.

Since 2005, officers have responded to 79 false alarms at Outback Steakhouse on Carolyn Avenue. That number represents the most false alarms of any single business, according to an Argus Leader analysis of police log data.

The restaurant's management referred questions to Joe Cato, an Outback spokesman. He did not return a call seeking comment.

Some cities already charge businesses and residents that rack up multiple false alarm calls in an effort to recoup the lost time and officers' effort.