Verified response may be sought by Columbus, Ohio

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Jul. 1--Too many burglar alarms that cry wolf might spell the end of an automatic response by Columbus police.

As part of a plan to reduce mounting costs for police and fire overtime, officers soon might require security companies to verify that a crime is taking place before responding to alarms, Department of Public Safety officials said yesterday.

Assistant Director Barb Seckler said Columbus police respond to all alarms -- about 75,000 annually -- even though an estimated 95 percent go off in error. The city charges homeowners and businesses for repeated false alarms, but Seckler said fines don't cover police costs.

So-called "verified response" would require an alarm company or private security agency to confirm for police that they're needed at an actual crime scene. It's not a popular policy with the alarm industry.

"Verified response is non-response," said David Simon, a spokesman for Brink's Home Security, a Dallas-based company with 1.2 million customers nationwide.

Only about 30 U.S. cities have adopted the idea under consideration in Columbus, Simon said. The Dallas City Council voted last September to repeal its verified-response policy.

Simon said he would recommend higher false-alarm fines instead, or a policy that cuts off police response to places that have repeated false alarms. Columbus now charges $100 for the third or fourth call, and fines escalate to $800 each after the ninth.