Public Safety False Alarm Reduction Achievement Award:
Winner
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department,
Charlotte, North Carolina
Nominated by: Officer Brad Wahab, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Rationale: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department started the false alarm reduction program in the spring of 1996. The years prior showed a steady trend of increased alarm calls. It reached a high of 20% of the total calls for service in 1995. Officers responded to everyone of the 106,061 alarm calls and only took 1405 reports. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department used 69,670 officer hours to respond to those alarms. It was evident that something needed to be done.
An alarm ordinance was developed and presented to City Council. Along with the ordinance, was a proposal to implement a program that would outsource the tracking and billing, maintain a sworn officer as program manager, and establish a working relationship with alarm companies. City Council was very receptive to all but the cost it was going to require to start the program; $800,000 upfront and $4 million over the following 7 years. They tasked the police department to find an alternative where there would be zero cost to the tax payers and zero cost to the department.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department developed an RFP which reflected the “no cost task” and awarded the contract to an outsource vendor. The contract mandated that there would be a revenue share and the vendor would absorb the start-up costs. City Council was pleased with the solution and to this day, the tracking and billing is still outsourced.
The alarm ordinance has been relatively unchanged since 1996 and those being changes to definitions. The ordinance places a great deal of responsibility on the citizens of Charlotte. It requires registration of all alarm systems, whether they are monitored or not and the fine structure allows for the first two false alarms to be waived. The rest of the fine structure is as follows:
#3, 4, and 5 = $50 each
#6 and 7 = $100 each
#8 and 9 = $250 each
#10 or more = $500 each
One very important aspect of the ordinance is the no response policy. If an alarm user fails to register their alarm system, they will not receive police response to their alarm. The police are dispatch by permit only. If an alarm user fails to pay a fine after 30 days, they will not receive police response to their alarm until that fine has been paid. This policy has been strictly enforced and has helped us hold alarm users and alarm companies responsible.
Evaluation of the last three years:
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2003
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2004
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2005
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Number of Permits
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112,893
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118,872
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130,216
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Responses
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49,658
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31,624
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41,582
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Dispatch Rate
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0.44
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0.27
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0.32
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The 2005 calendar year was a year of change for us. We developed another RFP and awarded the contract to an outsource company which provided software to better facilitate problem solving. When developing the RFP, in an attempt to improve our false alarm program, we met with stakeholders to include alarm companies and alarm users. A monthly meeting is held with local alarm companies and representatives of the larger national companies to maintain open lines of communication. Highlights of the RFP included online registration/renewal, online bill pay, pay by phone, and salary reimbursement for the officer, a civilian, and 50% of a computer specialist. The department allocated a civilian to work with the assigned officer and we rightly named ourselves the False Alarm Reduction Unit to reflect out goal. The FARU completely remodeled the permits and notification stickers used by officers, and developed a brochure. The brochure includes information about the ordinance, false alarm reduction tips, and appeal guidelines. The future plans of the unit will be to reinstate a media campaign, start an alarm school, increase site visits by the officer, and of course reduce false alarms.
The False Alarm Reduction Unit of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department would like to be considered for the FARA Public Safety False Alarm Reduction Achievement Award in part for the reduction from 106,061 responses in 1995 to 41,582 in 2005. We increased our permitted sites to over 130,000 and currently enjoy a dispatch rate of 0.32. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spends no money for the alarm program. All salaries, education materials, benefits, brochures, and notification stickers are paid for by the outsource vendor. The City has an added benefit of receiving a share of the revenue from the false alarm fines. The False Alarm Reduction Unit strives to build partnerships to prevent the next crime and enhance the quality of life.
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