Two U.S. cities announced new non-response policies for unverified alarms in 2011. The Detroit Police Department enacted its policy in August and the San Jose, Calif. PD, followed by announcing a very similar plan a few days before Christmas. As law enforcement budgets are cut across the country and many look to reduce false alarm dispatches to boost efficiency, California and Michigan alarm companies are not the only ones watching these policies.
San Jose is the newest city to employ a non-response protocol for unverified alarms. And alarm companies operating in the area are still reeling from the break-neck speed at which the decision was made and implemented by the city’s law enforcement officials. The SJPD informed citizens and alarm companies on Dec. 21, 2011 that effective Jan. 1, 2012, the department would not respond to residential or commercial alarms where the monitoring station calling for dispatch did not have positive confirmation that a crime was in progress or had already occurred.