Home Alarm Question

[74man]

I have a home alarm system installed. In my city I have to register this alarm system with my local police department for $25.00 annually. I received my renewal paperwork the other day and at the bottom of the information page there are three questions. These questions are 1.) ANY GUNS? 2.) ANY DOGS? 3.) LAW ENFORCEMENT RESIDENCE?. These are yes or no questions. Here is my question, Why does my local police department want to know the answer to these questions? I can understand about the dogs, for the officers safety. Although if a burgular was to get past the dog, either by killing the dog maybe the dog isn't viscous then the police shouldn't worry. What bothers my is the other two questions. Why do they want to know about my guns and if this is a LEO's residence? Thank you for all replies.

[guayuque]

The guns seems to me to be an officer safety issue. If burglar breaks in he may arm himself and be a threat to responding officers. LEO, I am not so sure.

[TRICKSTER]

Why don't you simply ask the city why they ask these questions? You don't list which city you are in and each city may have it's own reasons to ask for various info.

[mark2203]

Officer safety. The alarm company dispatcher will actually ask that question before dispatching the local police if your alarm is triggered. Makes sense. The annual city alarm registration fee is a crock though.

[Ron-Solo]

The guns seems to me to be an officer safety issue. If burglar breaks in he may arm himself and be a threat to responding officers. LEO, I am not so sure.

This! LEO residence same reason, but burglar may also have access to uniforms and ID items, increasing danger even more.

[bshnt2015]

Interesting, cities collecting a fee and questioning what's in your home and occupation, where does the data go, who has access to it and how long is it kept for?

Ask the local PD and city council what's up. Good luck.

[PaperPuncher]

I have a home alarm system installed. In my city I have to register this alarm system with my local police department for $25.00 annually. I received my renewal paperwork the other day and at the bottom of the information page there are three questions. These questions are 1.) ANY GUNS? 2.) ANY DOGS? 3.) LAW ENFORCEMENT RESIDENCE?. These are yes or no questions. Here is my question, Why does my local police department want to know the answer to these questions? I can understand about the dogs, for the officers safety. Although if a burgular was to get past the dog, either by killing the dog maybe the dog isn't viscous then the police shouldn't worry. What bothers my is the other two questions. Why do they want to know about my guns and if this is a LEO's residence? Thank you for all replies.

I would just forego the registering of the alarm. What business of the local LEO is it if you have one. Are they not going to respond if dispatched to a house with an unregistered alarm? Are you going to get fined if they respond to your alarm and find out it isn't registered? Will the perp be found innocent because your alarm was not registered? What if an alarm was installed prior to needing to be registered?

If the alarm goes off it is likely the perp will leave unless you are way out in the boonies in which case a responding LEO probably would not be able to be on scene until it was too late so that is moot. Keep your $25 and keep your lifestyle private. Houses without alarms have the potential to have the same items in them and I don't think that LEO will decide to not respond to a call simply because an alarm did not go off.

Registration fee, ha!! That is like paying california sales tax when you can buy whatever it was online for no tax and free shipping.

[monaghan]

My city has these YES or NO questions also. Furthermore, they outsource this service (out of state) so who knows who might see one's personal info.

[9mmepiphany]

Are they not going to respond if dispatched to a house with an unregistered alarm? Are you going to get fined if they respond to your alarm and find out it isn't registered? Will the perp be found innocent because your alarm was not registered? What if an alarm was installed prior to needing to be registered?

i would think registration of your alarm has something to do with it being monitored, if your not connected, maybe they don't care.

unless there is an ordinance, i don't think they can fine you for not registering, but the can fine you for the noise and they can charge you for their response to a false alarm

[74man]

First of all, I wanted to hear from the LEO's about how they feel when they have to respond to a house alarm, are they concerned if there are firearms in the house? Following state laws mine are secured. Are LEO's really concerned about dogs at the residence? Do LEO's respond differently if a Law Enforcement officer lives there? Yes, there is a fine or fee that the pd charges when you don't have the alarm system registered and they respond, ($85.00). I live in Vacaville, there is a city ordinance covering alarm systems, they have to get money somewhere. I have had one false alarm, my fault because when I tripped the alarm and entered my password but I forgot to press enter to turn the system off, my bad. I wrote the questions to see how the LEO's feel about the questions and if these questions, if answered, would be confidential. I am going to go the the PD tomorrow and find out why they need to know the answers to these questions. Soooooooooo, thank you for all your responses.

[retired]

Yes, leos are concerned if dogs live there. I went to an alarm call once and went to the backyard gate. I made a little noise to ascertain if a dog was in the back, but no response.

Since the gate was locked, I climbed over. As I walked toward the rear, a large white German Shepherd appeared growling. I went back to the hose, turned it on and squirted him. He ran away, thought about it for awhile, realized his teeth were more powerful than my water and came at me.

I didn't want to shoot him, so I ran for the gate and made it over in time (barely). Struck my knee (the one operated on of course) against the wall as I did so. Homeowner saw this as she drove up and laughed. She stopped when I told her I was hurt and could have shot her dog.

Yeah, so I think that would be a legitimate question as are the other two from a leo's point of view. From a citizen's POV tho, I can understand not wanting to let the agency know you have guns.

Ask as you intend to and then make your decision.

[9mmepiphany]

you showed more restraint than i

the last time a dog in a backyard came at me, my gun was out and the hammer starting back when the owner called him off...we're both lucky he was well trained.

if you want me to respond to your alarm, you're giving me permission to enter your yard and house. i'd like to know what i might encounter there. i really don't want to get into a shootout with a homeowner or another LEO

[Ron-Solo]

First of all, I wanted to hear from the LEO's about how they feel when they have to respond to a house alarm, are they concerned if there are firearms in the house?

Yes

Following state laws mine are secured.

Thanks

Are LEO's really concerned about dogs at the residence?

Absolutely yes! Dogs bite and that hurts. Uniforms are expensive. I like dogs and don't want to have to shoot one

Do LEO's respond differently if a Law Enforcement officer lives there?

Yeah, it's human nature

Yes, there is a fine or fee that the pd charges when you don't have the alarm system registered and they respond, ($85.00). I live in Vacaville, there is a city ordinance covering alarm systems, they have to get money somewhere. I have had one false alarm, my fault because when I tripped the alarm and entered my password but I forgot to press enter to turn the system off, my bad. I wrote the questions to see how the LEO's feel about the questions and if these questions, if answered, would be confidential. I am going to go the the PD tomorrow and find out why they need to know the answers to these questions. Soooooooooo, thank you for all your responses.

I have worked various contract cities throughout LA County. Some have alarm ordinances and some don't. Thousands of dollars are spent every year by LE responding to false alarms, especially in bad weather. I worked one area where 7 hours of an 8 hour shift were spent responding to false alarms. Bad use of resources that could be better used elsewhere. Alarm ordinances & fines are the only way to get most people to fix their systems.

On a lighter note, we one had an aide to a county supevisor who would active the supervisor's home armed robbery alarm and then wait out front and time our response. For political reasons, no one would do anything about it. Eventually, a deputy who did not know this person rolled on the call and proned the aide out in the front yard at gunpoint until backup arrived. It was the funniest thing I ever saw when I rolled up. We never got a test call there again.

Retired, I'm sure you know which place I'm talking about.

Aloha,

Ron

[odysseus]

FYI: My city requires registration. The alarm company handled that for me and I signed the form, but no information like that was required of me. You should register because then they will properly respond and/or not fine you if you are within an accepted level of false alarms.

[SVT-40]

I would just forego the registering of the alarm. What business of the local LEO is it if you have one. Are they not going to respond if dispatched to a house with an unregistered alarm? Are you going to get fined if they respond to your alarm and find out it isn't registered? Will the perp be found innocent because your alarm was not registered? What if an alarm was installed prior to needing to be registered?

If the alarm goes off it is likely the perp will leave unless you are way out in the boonies in which case a responding LEO probably would not be able to be on scene until it was too late so that is moot. Keep your $25 and keep your lifestyle private. Houses without alarms have the potential to have the same items in them and I don't think that LEO will decide to not respond to a call simply because an alarm did not go off.

Registration fee, ha!! That is like paying california sales tax when you can buy whatever it was online for no tax and free shipping.

Some P.D.'s will not respond to alarms at residences where the homeowner has not registered their alarm. In addition if they do respond they may leave a city ordinance violation notice if there is not a alarm permit. The notice would require you to register the alarm, or face fines or future non response.

So I guess it's up to you. You want a police response to your alarm then follow the rules and register the alarm.

The main reason for alarm registration is so LEO's will have contact information in case of a burglary or other issue. The dog, firearm and LEO issues have been answered in previous posts.

In my old city if there were three false alarms at your residence over a 12 month period the home owner would be assessed a $50 fine for each additional false alarm. After two additional false alarms we would no longer respond.

The alarm policy cut false alarms down over 50 %.