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Article: FALSE ALARMS BOG THE SYSTEM ; 98% of burglar alarms in Springs waste cops' time
- Article from:
- The Gazette
- Article date:
- April 5, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Of the 10,667 burglar alarms triggered at Colorado Springs homes
and businesses last year, only 2 percent were legit.
For the other 10,454 alarms, cops made dry runs, burning time
they could have spent on real needs.
The problem of false alarms -- caused by equipment malfunctions,
poor installation or user error -- is so great that in December, the
department downgraded burglar-alarm responses in order of priority.
That means officers go to trespassing calls before they respond
to burglar alarms.
Colorado Springs police have been grappling with false alarms for
more than a decade.
Measures adopted in 1997, the first step toward regulating the
alarm industry, helped drive down calls from ...