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Article: False Alarms Divert D.C. Police; Ramsey Wants Stiff Fines for Repeat Calls
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- November 7, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The security system at the Brink's armored car office sounded 103
times in the first six months of this year. But every time police
pulled up to the fortresslike building on 17th Street NE, the outcome
was the same: a false alarm.
At 1620 I St. NW -- a 10-story office building downtown -- police
responded to 92 alarms during the same period. Each was false.
Throughout the city, patrol cars scramble every day to answer
alarms at businesses and homes, and officials said about 98 percent
prove false. These calls divert too many patrol cars from more
pressing matters, police said. And the assignments are time-
consuming: It can take nearly a half-hour to scour a high-rise for
signs of intruders.