Seattle police will no longer respond to alarm calls without 'supporting evidence'

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://www.komonews.com/news/local/seattle-police-no-longer-respond-to-
alarm-calls-without-supporting-evidence-police-change-video-audio-patrol-
response-crime-arrest-conserve-resources-officer-washington-spd#

SEATTLE — In a letter from interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr, the
Seattle Police Department (SPD) released a major policy change regarding
the response to alarm calls.

Starting Oct. 1, SPD will only dispatch officers to calls from alarm
companies with supporting evidence, such as audio, video, panic alarms, or
eyewitness evidence that a person is illegally entering or attempting to
enter a residence or commercial property.

"We will no longer respond to calls from alarm companies based only on
sensor or motion activations," the letter stated. "With depleted
resources, we cannot prioritize a patrol response when there is a very low
probability that criminal activity is taking place."

According to Seattle police, the Seattle 911 Center receives approximately
13,000 yearly residential and commercial burglary alarm calls from alarm
monitoring companies.

The letter said most of those calls are the result of an "unintended
sensor trip by a homeowner or business employee. Many others are the
result of old or failing equipment."

According to SPD, of the 13,000 alarm calls in 2023, less than 4% were
confirmed to have a crime associated with them that resulted in an arrest
or report being written.

The letter was sent to alarm companies on Sept. 13 advising companies to
notify customers of this change and that "additional effort may be
required to work with them on technology upgrades or alternative options.
"

According to Washington Alarm, the policy changewill impact more than
75,000 alarm sites in the community.

"The verified response policy has been tried and rejected numerous times
including by cities such as Dallas, Texas, and San Jose, California. It
goes against best practices established through a collaborative effort by
the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National
Sheriff’s Association," Washington Alarm said.

Our industry supports the police and agrees that they need to conserve
resources. But there is a better way," said Washington Alarm.

The letter stated the change in SPD's response does not impact the
licensing and reporting requirements for alarm system monitoring companies
as defined in Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 6.10.
--
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President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
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[Bob La Londe]

Post by Leroy N. Soetoro
https://www.komonews.com/news/local/seattle-police-no-longer-respond-to-
alarm-calls-without-supporting-evidence-police-change-video-audio-patrol-
response-crime-arrest-conserve-resources-officer-washington-spd#
SEATTLE — In a letter from interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr, the
Seattle Police Department (SPD) released a major policy change regarding
the response to alarm calls.
Starting Oct. 1, SPD will only dispatch officers to calls from alarm
companies with supporting evidence, such as audio, video, panic alarms, or
eyewitness evidence that a person is illegally entering or attempting to
enter a residence or commercial property.
"We will no longer respond to calls from alarm companies based only on
sensor or motion activations," the letter stated. "With depleted
resources, we cannot prioritize a patrol response when there is a very low
probability that criminal activity is taking place."
According to Seattle police, the Seattle 911 Center receives approximately
13,000 yearly residential and commercial burglary alarm calls from alarm
monitoring companies.
The letter said most of those calls are the result of an "unintended
sensor trip by a homeowner or business employee. Many others are the
result of old or failing equipment."
According to SPD, of the 13,000 alarm calls in 2023, less than 4% were
confirmed to have a crime associated with them that resulted in an arrest
or report being written.
The letter was sent to alarm companies on Sept. 13 advising companies to
notify customers of this change and that "additional effort may be
required to work with them on technology upgrades or alternative options.
"
According to Washington Alarm, the policy changewill impact more than
75,000 alarm sites in the community.
"The verified response policy has been tried and rejected numerous times
including by cities such as Dallas, Texas, and San Jose, California. It
goes against best practices established through a collaborative effort by
the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National
Sheriff’s Association," Washington Alarm said.
Our industry supports the police and agrees that they need to conserve
resources. But there is a better way," said Washington Alarm.
The letter stated the change in SPD's response does not impact the
licensing and reporting requirements for alarm system monitoring companies
as defined in Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 6.10.

Ah-yup. I wonder if they make people get alarm licenses, and if they do
that would open them up to liability if PD does not respond.

When my local town PD wanted to forced people to get alarm license it
was to gather data so they could fine people for false alarms. It had
nothing to do with response costs. I didn't say anything in the
meetings, but I wondered about liability if they failed to respond since
people would feel they were paying for it.

Of course there was a guard service owner there trying to get the
license ordinance passed, and huge fines for false alarms so he could
sell private response service.

[Dave Wainwright]

Post by Leroy N. Soetoro
https://www.komonews.com/news/local/seattle-police-no-longer-respond-to-
alarm-calls-without-supporting-evidence-police-change-video-audio-patrol-
response-crime-arrest-conserve-resources-officer-washington-spd#
SEATTLE — In a letter from interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr, the
Seattle Police Department (SPD) released a major policy change regarding
the response to alarm calls.
Starting Oct. 1, SPD will only dispatch officers to calls from alarm
companies with supporting evidence, such as audio, video, panic alarms, or
eyewitness evidence that a person is illegally entering or attempting to
enter a residence or commercial property.
"We will no longer respond to calls from alarm companies based only on
sensor or motion activations," the letter stated. "With depleted
resources, we cannot prioritize a patrol response when there is a very low
probability that criminal activity is taking place."
According to Seattle police, the Seattle 911 Center receives
approximately
13,000 yearly residential and commercial burglary alarm calls from alarm
monitoring companies.
The letter said most of those calls are the result of an "unintended
sensor trip by a homeowner or business employee. Many others are the
result of old or failing equipment."
According to SPD, of the 13,000 alarm calls in 2023, less than 4% were
confirmed to have a crime associated with them that resulted in an arrest
or report being written.
The letter was sent to alarm companies on Sept. 13 advising companies to
notify customers of this change and that "additional effort may be
required to work with them on technology upgrades or alternative options.
"
According to Washington Alarm, the policy changewill impact more than
75,000 alarm sites in the community.
"The verified response policy has been tried and rejected numerous times
including by cities such as Dallas, Texas, and San Jose, California. It
goes against best practices established through a collaborative effort by
the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National
Sheriff’s Association," Washington Alarm said.
Our industry supports the police and agrees that they need to conserve
resources. But there is a better way," said Washington Alarm.
The letter stated the change in SPD's response does not impact the
licensing and reporting requirements for alarm system monitoring companies
as defined in Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 6.10.

Ah-yup.  I wonder if they make people get alarm licenses, and if they do
that would open them up to liability if PD does not respond.
When my local town PD wanted to forced people to get alarm license it
was to gather data so they could fine people for false alarms.  It had
nothing to do with response costs.  I didn't say anything in the
meetings, but I wondered about liability if they failed to respond since
people would feel they were paying for it.
Of course there was a guard service owner there trying to get the
license ordinance passed, and huge fines for false alarms so he could
sell private response service.

In our local police blotter, nearly a quarter of the calls are alarm
calls. It doesn't say if they were legit, just that it was an alarm
call. If you want to know what it was, you have to go to the local cop
shop, give them the report number and they'll let you read it.

[NoBody]

On Tue, 24 Sep 2024 21:59:01 -0000 (UTC), "Leroy N. Soetoro"

Post by Leroy N. Soetoro
https://www.komonews.com/news/local/seattle-police-no-longer-respond-to-
alarm-calls-without-supporting-evidence-police-change-video-audio-patrol-
response-crime-arrest-conserve-resources-officer-washington-spd#
SEATTLE — In a letter from interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr, the
Seattle Police Department (SPD) released a major policy change regarding
the response to alarm calls.
Starting Oct. 1, SPD will only dispatch officers to calls from alarm
companies with supporting evidence, such as audio, video, panic alarms, or
eyewitness evidence that a person is illegally entering or attempting to
enter a residence or commercial property.
"We will no longer respond to calls from alarm companies based only on
sensor or motion activations," the letter stated. "With depleted
resources, we cannot prioritize a patrol response when there is a very low
probability that criminal activity is taking place."

Coming soon: Alarm rates decline because they don't respond to them.
See what a great job we did?

<eyeroll>