Crime & Safety
With New Ordinance to Target False Alarms, Town Invites You to Register Your Alarm Online
The Danville police respond to about 2,000 false alarms each year.
Have a home or business burglar alarm? You can register it online with the Town of Danville.
The town is encouraging residents and business owners to register their alarms this month, as it prepares to implement a new ordinance that seeks to reduce the some 2,000 false alarms that police respond to each year. Town of Danville Crime Prevention Specialist Mike Wells, quoting national statistics, said that 94 to 98 percent of alarms are false.
The new ordinance goes into effect Jan. 1. Approved in September, the law authorizes police to issue a warning for the first unnecessary response. A second false alarm in a year brings a $50 fine; a third, $150; and a fourth, $300.
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The purpose of the ordinance is to encourage businesses and homes to maintain their alarms and use them properly. Responding to false alarms isn’t just a nuisance for officers, it’s a hazard for police and the public, diverting “police officers from other useful duties.”
Proper use and maintenance of alarms includes registering them with police. Applications to register alarms are available on the Town’s website, www.danville.ca.gov. For more information, contact Wells at (925) 314-3707 or mwells@danville.ca.gov.
