Burglary Alarms
The Montgomery County Police Department responds to over 25,000 false alarms each year. Responding to false alarm calls reduces the police department’s effectiveness and undermines its ability to respond to more critical calls for service. The Montgomery County alarm law was adopted to address these issues.
Please note: The Montgomery County alarm law does not apply to smoke, fire, medical, or car alarms.
The False Alarm Reduction Section (FARS) of the Montgomery County Department of Police was created to administer the County’s alarm law. The FARS’s main function is to reduce the number of false alarms to which police respond each year. The FARS licenses all alarm companies, registers alarm users, sends notification of false alarms and invoices for excessive false alarms to alarm users, ensures that appropriate inspections and upgrades of alarm systems occur, and handles informal appeals regarding the false designation of alarm activations.
The alarm law defines a false alarm as any alarm signal that elicits a response by police personnel and for which there is no evidence of criminal activity to justify a police response. This simply means that if a police officer responds to an alarm signal and, after investigation, finds no evidence that criminal activity either had occurred or was occurring, the officer will designate the alarm signal as a false alarm. A false alarm may be caused by factors such as human error or equipment malfunction.
Every alarm user is allowed one “free” false alarm in a calendar year. False alarm response fees are imposed for the second and each subsequent false alarm. The false alarm response fee for residential and commercial alarm users begins at $25 for the second false alarm. Fees escalate to $1000 per false alarm for residential alarm users and $4000 per false alarm for commercial alarm users. Please refer to the False Alarm Response Fee Schedule for more detailed information.
On the third false alarm in a calendar year, the alarm user must have the alarm system inspected by a licensed alarm company. The purpose of this inspection is to ensure that all mechanical components of the alarm system are in good operating condition and also affords your alarm company an opportunity to reeducate all those using the alarm system on its proper use.
On the sixth false alarm in a calendar year, the alarm user must have the alarm system upgraded to meet current county installation standards.
You will be considered in violation of the alarm law if you fail to :
- register your alarm system
- pay imposed false alarm response fees
- upgrade the alarm system, as required
Alarm companies are prohibited from requesting police dispatch to your alarm signals for seven days after registration of the alarm system, unless there is a waiver granted by the FARS due to imminent danger to people or property. This is referred to as a “burn-in” or “soak” period.
Information for Alarm Customers and Companies
Alarm Customers (Residential/Non-Residential):
- Alarm User Registration - (Registration does not apply to smoke, fire, medical, or car alarms.)
- False Alarm Response Fee Schedule
- What Your Alarm Company Should Do For You
