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Lincoln, NE, Looks to Beef Up Alarm Ordinance

Every year, Lincoln, NE, police respond to more than 3,000 burglary alarms, but only a handful of them turn out to be true emergencies.

In 2007, one Lincoln store alone generated 37 false alarms. Banks, car dealerships, home improvement stores, fast food joints and pet stores have frequent false alarms.

But when the alarm goes off and police are notified by a security company, they have to go full-bore, with lights and sirens, even if they've been there 36 times before. At least two squad cars respond, taking them out of service for real emergencies.

"It's always dangerous for officers and citizens alike when a police officer is responding in an emergency condition," Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady said.

That's why city leaders are proposing to beef up the city's false alarm ordinance -- which is lenient compared to most cities -- with higher fines for repeat offenders. The ordinance would also allow the city to begin charging a fee when alarms are registered with the city.

The current ordinance, enacted in 1982, allows four false alarms without repercussion. Five or more are misdemeanors with $25 fines.

"We're quite a bit more liberal than Omaha," Casady said. "I don't know of anyone that is as liberal as us."

Omaha is tougher on frequent criers: They get one freebie and then pay a $100 fine for the second and third false alarms, and $250 for any more. Omaha's tough ordinance seemed to have a ripple effect on Lincoln, which saw a drop in false alarms beginning in 2003, after Omaha enacted its ordinance.

Under an ordinance proposed by Councilman John Spatz, a home or business can have six "free" false alarms in two years, but for each one after that there is a $100 fine. The fine increases to $250 after 15 false alarms. Homes and businesses whose alarm systems require a police response also would begin paying $50 a year to register their alarms.

The ordinance also would change the fines to fees, so that rather than going to the school district, as required by the state constitution, the fees would go to city coffers to help offset police costs.

A public hearing on the proposal will be held during the Monday City Council meeting, which begins at 3 p.m.

Spatz said he worked with business owners for months to reach this compromise; they preferred a higher registration fee to hefty fines. His goal is to reduce the number of false alarms and help the city defray its costs.

"The general public is paying for it right now," Spatz said. "The goal isn't to raise money; the goal is simply to keep whatever money is raised."

Some cities have stopped routinely responding to alarms and only respond if a representative on the scene has confirmed the need for police.

Lincoln's number of false alarms has dropped from a peak of 4,848 in 2007 to 3,279 last year, but Casady would like it to drop more.

"I think it could still be reduced more without sacrificing our ability to catch burglars in progress," he said.

This summer, police began working to cut down on false alarms by talking to business owners about properly training staff to arm and disarm alarms.

"We're trying the velvet glove along with the iron fist," Casady said.