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False Alarm Reduction
The False Alarm
Reduction Section (FARS) of the Montgomery County Department of Police
completed its eighth year of enforcement under the amended Chapter 3A, Alarms,
of the Montgomery County Code. The
In calendar year 2003, false alarms to
which police officers were required to respond were reduced by 8.3 % over the
previous year. The

Graph 1 – False Alarm Reduction, provides information on the number of requests for dispatch vs. actual responses (dispatched). The graph also provides information on calls where no response was made, as well as the total number of alarm users. The graph shows that the number of actual alarm calls to which police officers have responded has continued to decrease, while this year the number of alarm users remained almost exactly the same as last year. In 2003, there were a total of 44,673 requests for dispatch to alarm activations, down by 1736 over the previous year. Additionally, police responded to only 21,452 of those requests, or 52%. There were a total of 21,431 alarm activations to which the police were not required to respond in 2003.
Absent
enforcement of the alarm statute, coupled with the increase in alarm users, one
would expect that the actual dispatches to alarm activations would increase substantially, or at least at the same rate of growth. However,
actual responses to alarm activations were reduced by 8.3% between 2002 and
2003.
In 1994,
One critical enforcement measure in the alarm statute is the requirement that an alarm company cancel a police response when it is determined that an alarm activation is false. This is achieved through telephone or other electronic verification with the alarm user at the time of alarm system activation. The high number of non-responses (21,431) was due, in part, to that required cancellation by alarm companies. The higher the number of cancellations, the better the job the alarm companies are doing of reducing the number of false alarms to which police officers respond. In 2003, alarm companies cancelled a very impressive 10,057 requests for dispatch, an increase of almost 1,000 calls over 2002. These cancellations provide officers with more time to engage in other more critical law enforcement related activities and community policing initiatives.
The
Graph 2 and Chart 1 – Requests for Dispatch vs. Actual Responses depict the difference between the requests for dispatch and the actual responses since 1994. Requests for dispatch in 2003 declined by more than 2000 calls, while the actual responses to requests is at a new all-time low of 21,452. This, coupled with the increase in new alarm users, is extremely encouraging and shows how well the alarm law is working.

Year |
Requests for
Dispatch |
ActualResponses |
Percentage of Total Calls Responded To |
|
2003 |
44,673 |
21,452 |
52.0% |
|
2002 |
46,409 |
23,402 |
50.5% |
|
2001 |
45,702 |
24,855 |
54.4% |
|
2000 |
48,603 |
26,877 |
55.3% |
|
1999 |
48,434 |
25,951 |
53.9% |
|
1998 |
46,839 |
25,877 |
55.3% |
|
1997 |
45,791 |
29,219 |
63.8% |
|
1996 |
40,534 |
32,390 |
79.9% |
|
1995 |
40,967 |
35,624 |
87.0% |
|
1994 |
43,936 |
42,821 |
97.5% |
The false
alarm dispatch rate is perhaps the truest measure of false alarm reduction, as it
calculates the number of false alarm dispatches relative to the total number of
alarm users. The false alarm dispatch
rate is the only rate that takes into account the growth of the alarm user
base. Both residential and commercial
false alarm dispatch rates continued to decline in 2003 over 2002. For
the third year in a row, the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, an
alarm industry trade group, states that
|
Type |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
Residential
|
N/A |
.66 |
.54 |
.45 |
.36 |
.35 |
.32 |
.28 |
.25 |
.23 |
Commercial
|
N/A |
2.29 |
1.82 |
1.32 |
1.06 |
1.04 |
1.09 |
.98 |
.94 |
.88 |
Both
|
1.43 |
.98 |
.78 |
.61 |
.48 |
.44 |
.44 |
.38 |
.35 |
.32 |
Commercial false alarm dispatch rates have been reported as high as 4.0 and residential false alarm dispatch rates as high as 1.0 or above. A dispatch rate of 4.0 means that every alarm user has four actual responses every year. Using 2003 statistics, that would equate to 36,964 actual responses to alarm activations for commercial alarm users alone, instead of the 21,431; a figure more than 15,000 over the total responses for residential and commercial alarm users combined in 2003.
Assuming
The following pie charts (Graphs 3, 4 and 5) graphically depict the significant reductions in residential, non-residential and combined false alarm dispatch rates.
Graph 3 Graph 4


Graph 5

In 2003, 1.3% more residential and commercial alarm users experienced no false alarms at all. A total of 52,762 alarm users, or 79.4%, had zero false alarm activations to which police officers responded in 2003. The pie graphs on the following page show that each year more alarm users achieve the zero false alarm threshold. This statistic, which is supported by the low false dispatch rate, is indicative of the success of the overall false alarm reduction program. These reductions become more significant when viewed with the steady increase in the number of alarm users each year.
Threshold
Statistics


2003 Alarm Users =
66,474 2001
Alarm Users = 64,836


1999 Alarm Users =
58,143 1997
Alarm Users = 48,008
As a direct
result of the
The following graphs illustrate the revenues, hours and work years saved as a result of the false alarm reduction program.
Graph 6 shows that the actual revenue saved in 2003 as a result of
police officers responding to 21,431 less false alarms was $1,928,790. Since the
(The
dramatic difference in 2002 savings and subsequent years is due to using a more
realistic figure of $90 per response, as opposed to $55 in 2001 and $50 for
previous years.)


Graph 7 shows that the actual hours
saved in 2003 as a result of police officers responding to 21,431 less false
alarms was 14,301 hours. Since
the

Graph 8 shows that 13.75 actual work years were saved in 2003 as a result of enforcement of the alarm statute. Since enforcement began, Montgomery County has recovered a total of 61.82 work years of police officer time.
(The dramatic difference starting in 2002 vs. previous years is due to erroneously using a full 2080 hours as a work year measure between 1994 and 2001, which is not an accurate figure.)
The total savings in dollars, hours and work years since 1994 have been significant and are depicted in Chart 3 below. As stated previously in this report, absent strict enforcement of the alarm statute, Montgomery County would have paid more than $11,000,000 in 2003 alone responding to false alarms. The $9,313,030 savings to the county is, therefore, even more significant.
Year
|
Revenue
Saved
|
Hours
Saved
|
Work Years
Saved
|
|
1994 |
$ 55,750 |
743 |
.35 |
|
1995 |
$ 242,750 |
3,236 |
1.56 |
|
1996 |
$ 366,950 |
4,892 |
2.35 |
|
1997 |
$ 752,850 |
10,038 |
4.82 |
|
1998 |
$ 968,550 |
12,914 |
6.21 |
|
1999 |
$1,046,600 |
13,954 |
6.71 |
|
2000 |
$1,008,600 |
13,448 |
6.47 |
|
2001 |
$1,046,430 |
12,684 |
6.10 |
|
2002 |
$1,895,760 |
14,043 |
13.5 |
|
2003 |
$1,928,790 |
14,301 |
13.75 |
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
$9,313,030 |
100,243 |
61.82 |
In calendar year 2003, the FARS had 497 registered federal, state and local government facilities, all of which were held to the same strict standards as all other alarm users. Of the 497 government alarm users, only 97 or 20%, had at least one false alarm. This shows a decrease of 4% over 2002. Those 97 alarm users collectively had 132 false alarms. A total of 400 different government alarm users (80.5%) had zero false alarms, which surpasses statistics for all other alarm users by a slight margin (79.4%). The following chart reflects government alarm user activity for 1999 through 2003.
|
# of False
Alarms |
# of Alarm
Users - 1999 |
# of Alarm
Users – 2000 |
# of Alarm
Users - 2001 |
# of Alarm
Users - 2002 |
# of Alarm
Users - 2003 |
|
0 |
332 |
355 |
355 |
404 |
400 |
|
1 |
72 |
54 |
50 |
69 |
74 |
|
2 |
22 |
17 |
33 |
22 |
17 |
|
3 |
13 |
14 |
5 |
10 |
2 |
|
4 |
2 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
|
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
6 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
|
7 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
|
8 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
9 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
10-13 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
14-21 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Revenue
The following two charts reflect revenue collected by the FARS for alarm user registration and renewal fees, false alarm response fees, alarm business license and administrative fees, civil citations and appeal filing fees. The first chart covers calendar year 2003. The second chart covers fiscal year 03. The FY03 chart is included only as a reference, because budget projections are based on fiscal rather than calendar years. The more accurate chart is the calendar year 2003 chart, as false alarms and the resultant false alarm response fees, are calculated on a calendar year basis.
Chart 5 – Calendar Year Revenue
|
CALENDAR YEAR 2003 |
ACTUAL REVENUES |
|
Alarm User Registration Fees Residential Commercial TOTAL |
$190,210 29,610 $219,820 |
|
Alarm User Registration Renewal Fees Residential Commercial TOTAL |
$208,560 31,250 $239,810 |
|
False Alarm Response Fees Residential County Attorney Collections Total Residential Commercial County Attorney Collections Total Commercial TOTAL |
$103,610 7,531 $111,141 $356,042 59,727 $415,769 $526,910 |
|
Alarm Business Fees License Civil Citations Administrative Fees TOTAL |
$ 66,760 26,500 16,523 $109,783 |
|
Appeal Filing Fees Residential Commercial TOTAL |
$ 570 225 $ 795 |
|
GRAND TOTAL |
$1,097,118 |
Chart 6 – Fiscal Year Revenue
|
FISCAL YEAR 03 |
ACTUAL REVENUES |
|
Alarm User Registration Fees Residential Commercial TOTAL |
$222,630 30,600 $253,230 |
|
Alarm User Registration Renewal Fees Residential Commercial TOTAL |
$104,100 13,990 $118,090 |
|
False Alarm Response Fees Residential County Attorney Collections Total Residential Commercial County Attorney Collections Total Commercial TOTAL |
$ 71,328 5,840 $ 77,168 $377,262 60,345 $437,607 $514,775 |
|
Alarm Business Fees License Civil Citations Administrative Fees TOTAL |
$ 51,790 36,300 23,026 $111,116 |
|
Appeal Filing Fees Residential Commercial TOTAL |
$ 630 315 $ 945 |
|
GRAND TOTAL |
$998,156 |
Collection of false alarm response fees is always a priority for the FARS. Strict enforcement of this aspect of the alarm law clearly shows that Montgomery County is serious about false alarms. The FARS collection rate in 2003 was an extraordinary 91.5% of all false alarm response fees billed. This is up slightly from last year’s collection figure of 91.3%. The suspension of police response provision in Chapter 3A, Alarms, for failure to remit false alarm response fees greatly enhances the FARS’s ability to collect on unpaid bills.
The following chart reflects the amount billed for false alarm response fees in 2003 versus the amount collected for both residential and commercial alarm users. Please note that the “collected” amount in the following chart reflects payments made against false alarms that occurred in 2003. The actual collection of monies for those calendar year 2003 false alarms extended into calendar year 2004, and, therefore, reflects different totals from the Calendar Year Revenue Chart.
False Alarm Response Fees
|
False Alarm Response Fees |
Billed |
Collected |
Past Due (>30 & <60 days overdue) |
Delinquent (>50 days overdue) |
|
Commercial |
$384,550 |
$352,575 |
$25,575 |
$6,000 |
|
Residential |
$113,675 |
$103,175 |
$6,575 |
$3,800 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
$498,225 |
$455,750 |
$32,150 |
$9,800 |
*Represents
fees collected in 2002 and 2003 against false alarm response fees billed in
2002.
The FARS is in the process of attempting to collect the past due amounts listed above. The FARS has sent overdue notices to all affected alarm users. The $9,800 listed above has been referred to the Office of the County Attorney for collection and the affected alarm users have been placed in a non-response status until payment is received.
General Statistics
Chart 8 shows false alarm reduction statistics from 1994, when the new alarm law was in effect but false alarm response fees were not yet being imposed, through 2003. The chart shows the actual number of requests for dispatch, the number of calls that were ultimately dispatched and responded to, requests where no response was required or was refused, verified calls and the percentage of false alarm reduction. Verified calls include actual criminal activity, as well as suspicious situations such as an open door with no other evidence of criminal activity. Circumstances under which no response may occur include cancellation of response by the alarm company, duplicate calls for the same alarm activation, blanket cancellations by supervisory police personnel and refusals where the alarm company or alarm user was in a violation status.
Chart 8 – False Alarm Reduction
|
Year |
Requests for Dispatch |
Dispatched |
No Response |
Verified Calls |
% Reduction |
% Reduction From Base |
|
2003 |
44,673 |
21,452 |
21,431 |
1,790 |
-8.3% |
-49.9% |
|
2002 |
46,409 |
23,402 |
21,064 |
1,943 |
-5.8% |
-45.3% |
|
2001 |
45,702 |
24,855 |
19,026 |
1,821 |
-7.5% |
-41.9% |
|
2000 |
48,603 |
26,877 |
20,172 |
1,554 |
+.035% |
-37.2% |
|
1999 |
48,434 |
25,951 |
20,932 |
1,551 |
+003% |
-39.4% |
|
1998 |
46,839 |
25,877 |
19,371 |
1,591 |
-11.4% |
-39.6% |
|
1997 |
45,791 |
29,219 |
15,057 |
1,515 |
-9.8% |
-32.0% |
|
1996 |
40,534 |
32,390 |
7,339 |
805 |
-9.1% |
-24.3% |
|
1995 |
40,967 |
35,624 |
4,855 |
488 |
-16.8% |
-15.7% |
|
1994 |
43,936 |
42,821 |
1,115* |
|
|
|
*Does not include dispatch vs.
non-dispatch or verified calls for January, February or March, 1994, as
statistics for those months are not available.
Chart 9 reflects the number of alarm users each year since 1994. Alarm user registrations have more than doubled since implementation and enforcement of the false alarm reduction program began in 1994. The FARS received 7,234 new alarm user registration forms in 2003. This increase, coupled with the 49.9% decrease in alarm activations to which police officers must respond each year, is truly remarkable. The success and results of this program are what make it a model for other municipalities across the country.
Chart 9 – Alarm Users
|
Type |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
|
Residential |
|
29,398 |
34,048 |
39,129 |
44,827 |
48,654 |
51,743 |
55,024 |
57,026 |
57,233 |
|
Commercial |
|
7,049 |
8,102 |
8,879 |
9,348 |
9,489 |
9,591 |
9,812 |
9,499 |
9,241 |
|
Both |
29,756 |
36,436 |
42,150 |
48,008 |
54,175 |
58,143 |
61,334 |
64,836 |
66,525 |
66,474 |
Chart 9 does not reflect an increase of overall alarm users of 7,234 because some alarm users each year move out of the area or remove their alarm systems and are no longer required to have an alarm user registration. Additionally, with the advent of alarm user registration renewal and the FARS’s outreach to almost 68,000 alarm users at the end of December 2002, we received numerous pieces of returned mail, for which we were able to investigate and inactivate almost 1,800 alarm users. The alarm user registration renewal also provides an opportunity for alarm users, who no longer use their alarm systems, to request cancellation of their registration. This, in turn, allows the FARS to perform statistical analysis using more accurate numbers, which provides for more meaningful and accurate reporting.
The following charts depict the number of alarm users that had a specific number of false alarms from 1995 through 2003. The charts also show the percentage of change between 2002 vs. 2003, as well as the percentage of change between the base year of 1995 and 2003, which shows the reduction of false alarms since inception of the program. Chart 10 shows residential alarm users. Chart 11 shows commercial alarm users, and Chart 12 reflects total alarms (both residential and commercial combined.)
As stated earlier in this report, each year an increasing number of alarm users have no false alarms at all. In 2003, 52,762 alarm users had ZERO false alarms to which police officers were required to respond. This is up once again from 2002 statistics with 685 additional alarm users having zero false alarms in 2003 over 2002. Therefore, the most compelling statistic in these charts is in the number of alarm users that appear on the 0 row (meaning they have had no false alarms for the entire calendar year).
Chart 10
Residential Alarm Users
With Specific Numbers of False Alarms
|
# of False Alarms |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
% Change (02-03) |
% Base Change (95-03) |
|
0 |
18116 |
23328 |
28428 |
33946 |
37,384 |
40,227 |
44,044 |
46,338 |
47,130 |
+1.7 |
+156 |
|
1 |
11271 |
10720 |
10701 |
10881 |
11,270 |
11,516 |
10,980 |
10,688 |
10,103 |
-5.5 |
-10.4 |
|
2 |
4153 |
3852 |
3516 |
3379 |
3,292 |
3,395 |
2,950 |
2,750 |
2,306 |
-16.1 |
-44.5 |
|
3 |
1171 |
540 |
371 |
1012 |
985 |
945 |
793 |
664 |
565 |
-14.9 |
-51.7 |
|
4 |
668 |
513 |
333 |
309 |
261 |
251 |
217 |
184 |
143 |
-22.3 |
-78.6 |
|
5 |
292 |
168 |
106 |
106 |
89 |
91 |
68 |
54 |
38 |
-29.6 |
-87.0 |
|
6 |
128 |
57 |
32 |
40 |
32 |
30 |
21 |
14 |
14 |
0 |
-89.1 |
|
7 |
50 |
25 |
13 |
15 |
10 |
11 |
7 |
2 |
9 |
+350 |
-82.0 |
|
8 |
19 |
12 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
+400 |
-73.7 |
|
9 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
+200 |
-77.8 |
|
10 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
+100 |
-100 |
|
11 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
12 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
13 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
14 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
15 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
16 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
-100 |
Chart 11
Commercial Alarm Users With Specific Numbers of False Alarms
|
# of False Alarms |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
% Change (02-03) |
% Base Change (95-03) |
|
0 |
2352 |
4020 |
4820 |
5412 |
5416 |
5457 |
5906 |
5739 |
5632 |
-1.8 |
+139 |
|
1 |
4697 |
4082 |
4059 |
3936 |
4073 |
4134 |
3906 |
3760 |
3609 |
-4.0 |
-23.2 |
|
2 |
2699 |
2580 |
2457 |
2290 |
2334 |
2474 |
2256 |
2098 |
1864 |
-11.1 |
-30.9 |
|
3 |
1435 |
1019 |
837 |
1335 |
1347 |
1433 |
1299 |
1169 |
1014 |
-13.2 |
-29.3 |
|
4 |
1113 |
1039 |
770 |
789 |
781 |
861 |
744 |
697 |
570 |
-18.2 |
-48.8 |
|
5 |
763 |
648 |
445 |
478 |
475 |
527 |
459 |
409 |
359 |
-12.2 |
-52.9 |
|
6 |
490 |
403 |
292 |
286 |
287 |
332 |
285 |
274 |
228 |
-16.8 |
-53.4 |
|
7 |
331 |
250 |
177 |
183 |
176 |
216 |
185 |
171 |
139 |
-18.7 |
-58.0 |
|
8 |
217 |
177 |
123 |
119 |
112 |
141 |
125 |
115 |
98 |
-14.8 |
-54.8 |
|
9 |
145 |
120 |
80 |
80 |
80 |
99 |
85 |
78 |
76 |
-2.6 |
-47.6 |
|
10 |
109 |
84 |
67 |
58 |
58 |
68 |
48 |
45 |
48 |
+6.7 |
-56.0 |
|
11 |
75 |
57 |
45 |
37 |
42 |
46 |
35 |
32 |
28 |
-12.5 |
-62.7 |
|
12 |
49 |
40 |
32 |
27 |
28 |
32 |
25 |
24 |
20 |
-16.7 |
-59.2 |
|
13 |
35 |
33 |
17 |
19 |
18 |
26 |
22 |
17 |
12 |
-29.4 |
-65.7 |
|
14 |
30 |
25 |
11 |
11 |
13 |
20 |
18 |
12 |
7 |
-41.7 |
-76.7 |
|
15 |
24 |
23 |
8 |
8 |
10 |
14 |
11 |
9 |
5 |
-44.5 |
-79.2 |
|
16 |
18 |
20 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
9 |
8 |
4 |
-50.0 |
-77.8 |
|
17 |
11 |
15 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
8 |
7 |
3 |
-57.1 |
-72.7 |
|
18 |
11 |
10 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
-57.1 |
-72.7 |
|
19 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
-25.0 |
-75.0 |
|
20 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1* |
3 |
2 |
1 |
-50.0 |
-80.0 |
|
21 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1* |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
22 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1* |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
23 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1* |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
24 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1* |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
25 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1* |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
26 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-100 |
|
27 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |