Burleson, Texas is considering verified response, as well as other methods, for reducing police dispatches in the city. The city has not had a major change in its alarm ordinance for more than 20 years, according to Chris Russell, president of the North Texas Alarm Association (NTAA).

Russell, who met with the mayor, city manager and police chief of Burleson, said that most likely no policy change will be implemented this year. He also said that city officials were very receptive to communicating and sharing information about the city’s plans.

“The mayor doesn’t have the full story. They are still trying to learn what’s happening and what they could do. I don’t think [the mayor] is aware about other options to curb false alarms without actually taking the service away,” Russell said.

Burleson, which has been lax on enforcing false alarm fines, according to Russell, reported approximately 1,400 non-cancelled alarm calls for 2005. The city has about 3,000 alarm systems total and a total population of about 30,000, Russell added.

Those in the alarm industry, including the Security Industry Alarm Coalition and NTAA, plan to continue dialogue with Burleson about tracking and controlling false alarms in ways other than verified response or non-response.