City officials in Darien, Conn., earlier this week recommended that an ordinance be passed at their Representative Town Meeting that would fine home and business owners each time their alarm systems are falsely triggered.
Fines for false alarms were put on an escalating scale of $100 for the first offense, $150 for the second and $200 for each offense after that throughout the year.
According to a published report in the Darien News Review, Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello said that the city averages between 1,900 and 2,100 false alarms every year. The chief said that false alarms are a drain on the city’s law enforcement resources, as two officers are required to respond to alarm calls.
Lovello indicated that the money from the fines would likely be used for the administrative purposes of handling implementation of the fines.
In contrast to the high number of Darien’s false burglar alarm calls, city fire officials reported that they had actually seen a reduction in false fire alarms since 2001.
If approved, the fines would likely go into effect in January.
