FORTVILLE — The Fortville Police Department responded to 133 false alarms last year, according to Chief Bill Knauer.
Those unnecessary runs cost the town money, time, fuel and other resources, he said.
He’s asking Fortville leaders to establish a policy requiring permits for alarm systems that trigger police response when they go off. He also wants officials to set fines for false alarms as well.
If enacted, the policy would be the first in the county to require permits for alarm systems. Greenfield and McCordsville assess fines for multiple false alarms. New Palestine doesn’t, but its police chief said the town might consider fines in the future. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department also doesn’t regulate alarms at all for those who live outside municipal boundaries.
“We have to be able to recoup our resources that we’re putting out there when we respond to these alarms,” Knauer said at a town council meeting earlier this week.
Knauer stressed the push for the policy comes from the police department and not the council. The motivation is not to make a profit, he continued, but to cover expenses associated with responding to false alarms that are now falling on taxpayers.
Knauer told the Daily Reporter that the kinds of alarms the potential policy would cover would be for burglar alarms, holdups and break-ins as well as panic alarms.
He said he continues to explore what kinds of fees and fines would be appropriate but said whatever is collected should go to the town’s general fund.
“I think right now every taxpayer in town is paying for us to respond to homes that have alarms and business alarms,” he said. “I don’t think it’s quite fair to the taxpayers that don’t have alarms.”
All together, Fortville’s 133 false alarms last year cost the police department about $1,600, Knauer said. It may not seem like a lot, he went on to say, but it adds up over time. He expects the figure to rise as Fortville continues to develop and grow.
If a permit requirement is approved, permits would be displayed on front doors or windows of properties so they’d be visible to responding officers, Knauer said. Permit numbers would be recorded and available to Hancock County 911 operators. Each permit would have information such as what company is associated with the alarm; the owner of the alarm system; the people or pets who might be inside when an alarm is triggered; and ways for officers to contact the owner while responding to an alarm.
At the town council meeting, Knauer addressed what he called misnomers surrounding the subject. He emphasized alarm permits would not give police the right to enter a property. If there are no signs of forced entry at a property where an alarm is triggered, officers won’t go in, he added.
Knauer encourages those with questions and comments on the matter to reach out to him. His email address is [email protected]. The police department has also started a discussion on the topic on its Facebook page.
“I am certainly listening to the comments and taking those into consideration,” Knauer said.
Fortville Town Councilman Tim Hexamer told the Daily Reporter that he understands Knauer’s concerns. Hexamer said he’s gathering information and looking into how other communities address alarms before determining a stance.
Greenfield doesn’t require alarm permits but does charge for “excessive false alarms,” according to an ordinance. The city issues warnings to violators for up to three false alarms in a calendar year. A fourth false alarm in that same year nets violators a $100 fine; each one after that during the year would be $300 each.
Like Greenfield, McCordsville does not require alarm owners to register or get permits for alarms but does charge violators for over three false alarms per year. Assistant Chief Paul Casey said he doesn’t recall the last time it was cited, however.
Town code indicates a fine of not less than $10 comes with a fourth false alarm in one year and $20 for a fifth. A sixth violation costs not less than $30 but can be waived if the owner completes alarm system training provided by an alarm monitoring service or if the owner provides records indicating the faulty alarm has been repaired or maintained. A seventh false alarm in the same year comes with a fine of not less than $100.
False alarms within 30 days of installation do not contribute to the annual total, according to the code.
New Palestine residents are not required to get permits for alarms and are not fined for excessive false ones, Town Marshal Robert Ehle said.
“We have our fair share of them,” he said of responding to false alarms, adding regulating them could be a possibility in the future.
Robert Campbell, chief deputy of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, said the department doesn’t require alarm permits or issue false alarm fines either.
