FARA Achievement Award:
Honorable Mention
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Loudoun County, Virginia
Nominated by: Sally Shaffer, Alarm Administrator
Rationale: The False Alarm Reduction Unit of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office would like to be considered for the FARA Public Safety False Alarm Reduction Achievement Award. We have registered 19,492 alarm users and reduced our responses from 12,271 in 2003 to 8,935 in 2006 and 6,696 (estimated) in 2007 and currently have a dispatch rate of .34. Since inception, we have invoiced and collected revenue that allows this Unit to be self-supporting.
The Federal government recently ranked Loudoun County, Virginia number one among the nation’s counties in both population and job growth. It has earned the reputation as one of most desirable places to live and work in the United States.
The majority of the County’s growth is due to new residents. This type of growth, however, does have its price. Demand for public services has affected every area of government especially public safety. The growth in building has also brought in an increased number of alarm security systems attributing to an increase in alarm responses. As the calls for alarm activations increased, so did the demand on law enforcement.
In order to evaluate the impact false alarms were having in Loudoun County, an analysis was conducted in April 2003. Using this study, we were able to project the impact false alarms would have on Loudoun County if they were left unchecked (projected 2009 – 14,830 responses). This study further analyzed the impact of a false alarm reduction ordinance and gave us the ammunition needed to begin formulating a plan for a false alarm ordinance.
During this process (2004 – 2005) several things occurred that precipitated alarm reduction prior to the ordinance actually being passed. The first and most significant event occurred in 2004 when the school board took action to address the false alarms issues within the county schools. Rather than being charged for false alarms, they contacted their monitoring company and instructed them to call central dispatch for school security instead of emergency communications. School security now handles the alarm calls creating a significant reduction in the number of false alarms requiring law enforcement response.
In March 2005 the Board of Supervisors passed the False Alarms Ordinance of Loudoun County. The ordinance established the False Alarm Reduction Unit in the Sheriff’s Office to administer the ordinance. This unit consists of two positions --- the Alarm Administrator and the Assistant Alarm Administrator.
The alarm ordinance requires all alarm systems, residential and commercial be registered with the Sheriff’s Office. To aid in this, a web-page was developed which included, the County Ordinance, questions and answers about the program, fine structure, tips on reducing false alarms and an on-line registration form. This allowed residential, commercial and alarm companies to register on-line without submitting any additional paperwork.
The ordinance also imposes a fine on alarm users that have three or more false alarms in any given calendar year. The third false alarm is invoiced at $100 and increases with each false alarm thereafter (+$50 residential, + $100 commercial). If an alarm user fails to pay the accessed false alarm fine after 60 days, the site is placed in no-response status.
To begin the implementation process, media coverage was used to inform citizens of the expected date of enforcement. Courtesy letters were sent to all users experiencing false alarms along with a brochure that outlined the program, fine structure and what they could do to prevent false alarms. We saw a significant drop in false alarm responses well before the actual enforcement date (July 2006). Since July 2006, even with two free false alarms, this unit has collected 84.07% of billed calls.
COMPARISON
|
Year
|
Request For Dispatch
|
Actual Responses
|
Canceled
|
Valid Calls
|
Percent Reduction
|
% Reduction From Base
|
|
2003
(process started)
|
13,579
|
12,271
|
1,308
|
15
|
|
|
|
2004
|
12,177
|
10,749
|
1,428
|
10
|
12.4%
|
12.4%
|
|
2005
(Ordinance passed)
|
11,732
|
10,182
|
1,550
|
10
|
5.3%
|
17.0%
|
|
2006
(Ord. enforced)
|
10,550
|
8,935
|
1,615
|
13
|
12.2%
|
27.2%
|
|
2007 - projected
(1st qtr actual)
|
7,928
|
6,696
|
1,232
|
0
|
25.10%
|
45.4%
|
If this trend continues, 2007 should again show a major decrease in false alarm activations. As overall calls for service increases, the number of alarm calls continues to show a decrease.
Developing, enacting, and implementing a successful false alarm reduction program is not easy. However, the rewards are remarkable and certainly make the pain of start-up worthwhile. False alarm reduction benefits all aspects of our communities; law enforcement personnel have more time to engage in law enforcement activities; alarm users and alarm companies become more aware and conscientious of their alarm usage; and alarm signals begin to carry greater weight when signals are not automatically considered false.
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