Fayetteville, Ark., adopts alarm ordinance

Alarm system owners in Fayetteville, Ark., who trigger more than one false alarm per year will now be charged a fee under a new ordinance that takes effect next month.

Under the ordinance, homeowners and businesses are required to register their alarm systems with the Fayetteville Police Department. Fines for false alarms range from $75 for the first offense to $250 for six or more violations of the ordinance. Businesses with robbery alarms will also be required to pay fees for triggering a false alarm, ranging from $100 for the first offense to $200 for four or more.

The new law is an effort by the city to cut down on the amount of wasted time the city’s officers spent responding to false calls in 2008. According to published reports, Fayetteville police responded to nearly 3,800 alarm calls last year, 99 percent of which were false.