The Vallejo (Calif.) City Council has chosen to limit police response to only verified intrusion system alarm calls as the city attempts to deal with a critical shortage of patrol officers and too many false alarms.   

Vallejo is the second largest city in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, with a population of around 126,000 and a land area of more than 30 square miles. Interim Police Chief Jason Ta advocated limiting alarm call responses to address declining staffing levels that prompted the city to declare a state of emergency last year.

At the Feb. 13 council meeting, Ta proposed amendments to city law that would model the city of Fontana’s alarm ordinance, which requires verification that a crime is in progress by an eyewitness, an alarm system video feed or by multiple alarm activations at a commercial complex or within a residence.

The ordinance does not require verification for any alarm that is manually triggered, such as those designed for medical emergencies, the Vallejo Sun reported.

According to a city analysis conducted in 2022, it was discovered that 98 percent of alarm call events in Vallejo were determined to be false alarms. In 2022, the department responded to 3,627 alarm calls, averaging 10 calls per day, with an average of 23 minutes spent on each call.

Ta cited studies that show officer hours spent on alarm calls went from 103 hours a month in 2020 to 153 hours a month in 2023. He said that the verification requirements would allow the department to divert 148 hours of officer time per month to other police responses.

City Attorney Veronica Nebb recommended the city include a requirement to review the policy after at least one year of data is collected, the Vallejo Sun reported.