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Waynesboro, VA, PD Wants Alarm Ordinance

The Waynesboro, VA, Police Department is trying to reduce the number of false emergency alarms that officers get called to in the city.

Waynesboro police responded to 633 false alarms this past year. Each call averaged about 14 minutes and usually required two officers.

That means officers spent 290 hours and $5,000 responding to false alarms last year.

Nationally, nearly 99 percent of security alarm calls are false alarms, and most are due to human error.

Waynesboro police are considering fining homes and businesses if they have three false alarms, or letting them take an "alarm training" course.

"To teach people how their alarm systems work and how not to have false alarms. And when it comes to businesses, the high turnover rate in businesses is where most of those false alarms come from," says Chief Douglas Davis with the Waynesboro Police Department.

The educational course would take the place of a fine, and police say it would make the department more efficient.

"It would reduce our response to false alarms, and by reducing the number of false alarms, it frees up our resources for other things," says Davis. 

Glen Mowrey works for the non-profit Security Industry Alarm Coalition that is working with the police department.

He says cutting down false alarms with this ordinance will also help with officer safety.

"When an officer continually responds to the same call over and over and over, after a while, a complacency sets in and they can drop their guard when they walk in. When they do, it may be a real alarm, and if that's the case, it could be a real problem," says Mowrey. 

The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police passed a model alarms ordinance last year, and Waynesboro could become the first city to follow suit.

"They're very successful and we've got agencies across the country that have dropped their alarm calls anywhere from 40 to 50 to 60 to 80 percent in sustained reductions in those programs," says Mowrey.

Wednesday night was just an informational session for the city council.

The council was mostly in favor, but did raise a concern about one part of the ordinance that would stop police response after a property had eight false alarms.

The council also plans to discuss requiring a permit for security alarms.