The Los Angeles City Council has approved fees for false burglar alarms. Residents will be charged $115 the first time police respond and an extra $50 for each additional false alarm, says the Los Angeles Times. Alarm companies protested that the fees were too high. “I believe the fine is punitive,” said George Gunning, of the Greater Los Angeles Security Alarm Association.
Last year, the city Police Commission said it wanted police to stop responding to burglar alarms unless they had been verified as genuine emergencies by property owners or a private security company. More than 90% of the city’s burglar alarms are false. Under current policy, after two false alarms, residents must verify that they have an emergency before police will dispatch a squad car.
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-alarms22sep22,1,151777.story?coll=la-headlines-california