Cities considering tightening alarm policies

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Burglar-alarm companies are taking advantage of taxpayers by using local police departments to provide their service, according to officials in two east-side suburbs.

But police in Cottonwood Heights and Draper are obligated to provide the service — responding to alarms — in the name of public safety.

The problem is, burglar alarms are false 98 percent of the time, according to a video presentation viewed by the Draper City Council last week. Overall, police responding to the alarm calls significantly slows their response times for real crimes, and more criminals get away.

Now both cities are considering tightening their policies to hold the companies and their customers more responsible.

"They would just like to sell the system and sell the police force with it," Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore said of the alarm companies.

Most false alarms occur due to user error, bad weather or things like pets and balloons, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The issue has been discussed in Utah since 1992, and now a team of police officers and alarm company representatives meets monthly to discuss the situation. In that time, the rate of false alarms has decreased from about four per year per alarm to less than one per year, said Bill LaRochelle, president of the Utah Burglar and Fire Alarm Association.

The past two decades also have seen cities like Salt Lake City and West Valley City require private guards to respond to burglar alarms before police are called. That way, armed law enforcers show up only if actual crimes have occurred, said Salt Lake detective Jeff Bedard.

LaRochelle, who makes his living selling alarms for Honeywell, said that policy simply slows police response.

"Obviously, we don't care for it," he said. "By the time the police get out there, what it is is a police report on a burglary. There's no chance of catching anybody."

Cottonwood Heights municipal code states that private guards should be sent to alarms before police are called, but that rule has been ignored, Cottonwood Heights Assistant Police Chief Paul Brenneman told the City Council. The new police force is reviewing all its policies, he said.

Ironically, much public support for the creation of the new Cottonwood Heights Police Department was reaped over dissatisfaction that the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office failed to respond quickly to burglary alarms at a computer store last November. The burglars got away with thousands of dollars in merchandise and have yet to be caught.