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Three out of almost 400.
That’s the number of burglar alarms which turned out to be actual emergencies for Hannibal police in 2008.
The overwhelming majority of the others happened during the day and were triggered by employees, not robbery suspects.
So, the department is asking businesses for help in reducing false alarms.
“There’s enough bad things that happen without us playing with fire,” said Capt. John Hark.
The department first noticed the problem when it recently compiled statistics for last year. Figures for 2007 were not available.
Police are encouraging better training for workers at places that have security systems. Technology that can help reduce false alarms also exists.
“We understand mistakes are going to happen and we don’t have a problem with that,” Hark said. But, “We take these alarms very serious.”
Most systems are hooked up to a security firm’s central dispatch unit that can be on the other side of the country.
The companies that installed them immediately notify Hannibal police when a problem is detected.
Hark said that every time an alarm comes in, police put an emergency response plan into action.
The department doesn’t share details of the plan because of security concerns, but Hark said too many false alarms can lead to apathy. The public also can be endangered.
“The days of ‘This will never happen in Hannibal’ is just not true,” Hark said. “We have to remain diligent.”
Some communities have reduced response or stopped answering burglar alarm calls all together.
Hark said that’s not an option in Hannibal, although he said the city “may have to look at” an ordinance that would set up fines or “administrative sanctions” for businesses that continue to have an inordinate amount of false alarms.
No such law is in place now, and police are confident such regulations won’t be needed.
“Whenever we’ve reached out to businesses, it’s always resulted in a positive manner,” Hark said.
Three out of almost 400.
That’s the number of burglar alarms which turned out to be actual emergencies for Hannibal police in 2008.
The overwhelming majority of the others happened during the day and were triggered by employees, not robbery suspects.
So, the department is asking businesses for help in reducing false alarms.
“There’s enough bad things that happen without us playing with fire,” said Capt. John Hark.
The department first noticed the problem when it recently compiled statistics for last year. Figures for 2007 were not available.
Police are encouraging better training for workers at places that have security systems. Technology that can help reduce false alarms also exists.
“We understand mistakes are going to happen and we don’t have a problem with that,” Hark said. But, “We take these alarms very serious.”
Most systems are hooked up to a security firm’s central dispatch unit that can be on the other side of the country.
The companies that installed them immediately notify Hannibal police when a problem is detected.
Hark said that every time an alarm comes in, police put an emergency response plan into action.
The department doesn’t share details of the plan because of security concerns, but Hark said too many false alarms can lead to apathy. The public also can be endangered.
“The days of ‘This will never happen in Hannibal’ is just not true,” Hark said. “We have to remain diligent.”
Some communities have reduced response or stopped answering burglar alarm calls all together.
Hark said that’s not an option in Hannibal, although he said the city “may have to look at” an ordinance that would set up fines or “administrative sanctions” for businesses that continue to have an inordinate amount of false alarms.
No such law is in place now, and police are confident such regulations won’t be needed.
“Whenever we’ve reached out to businesses, it’s always resulted in a positive manner,” Hark said.
