They're becoming as much a part of the holidays as the turkey, trimmings and gift-giving -- but there's nothing festive about false alarms from home security systems.

They don't just divert law enforcement unnecessarily, they can be a pain in the pocketbook. That's why Wichita police officials are urging residents to plan ahead as the holidays arrive.

"The problem we run into is the alarm owners aren't educating company or out-of-town guests," said Claudia Zamorano, alarm administrator for the city of Wichita.

The son or daughter coming home from college has forgotten the access code, or nobody told Aunt Rita how to shut off the alarm when she gets back from the mall. Before they know it, a police officer stands at the door.

"We do respond to every alarm, unless it's canceled," Zamorano said.

Audible alarms in Sedgwick County accounted for more than one-fifth of all emergency calls in 2001, the last year for which statistics were available, Zamorano said. Just 1 percent of those alarm calls turned out to be valid, she said.

Under city ordinance, an address is allowed one false alarm call each calendar year, Zamorano said. Every false alarm after that is punishable by a $40 fine -- $50 if someone punched in a "panic" code.

The fines can be appealed and rescinded for a variety of reasons, Zamorano said, including alarms set off by bad weather or the loss of electricity or phone service.