False Alarms

No area in the security industry has been more controversial or misunderstood as the issue of false alarms.  First it is important that we define what a false alarm is. This is not easily done because each group seems to have its own definition. Some examples are:

 

Alarm Company:  A false alarm is the activation of the alarm system under circumstances where it should not have activated. (i.e. equipment malfunction.) 

Homeowner:   A false alarm is when I do something incorrectly that results in the activation of the alarm system. (i.e.” I went to get the paper and forgot to turn off the alarm” or “The cleaning lady came and I forgot to leave the alarm off.” or “I left the dog inside and it tripped the motion detector.”) 

Police Department:   A false alarm is when an alarm monitoring company requests police response to a location and no burglary or attempted burglary has transpired. 

Each group is correct from their own perspective, and that is what makes any discussion of false alarms difficult. Perhaps a better way to talk about the issue is to better describe each situation. Rather than trying to identify them all in terms that have mutually exclusive meanings.

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Alarm Company: Alarm Malfunction  An Alarm Malfunction is the activation of the alarm system under circumstances where it should not have activated. (i.e. equipment malfunction.) Equipment malfunction could be for several reasons:

 

  1. The electronic equipment is “bad” and has ceased to operate correctly -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  2. The electronic equipment was installed incorrectly.

a)      installed in an area that is a “hostile” environment

b)     wired incorrectly--------------------------------------------------------

  1. The system was designed incorrectly and the equipment is programmed incorrectly for the intended use. 

Homeowner:   Alarm User Error  An Alarm User Error is when an alarm user does something incorrectly that results in the activation of the alarm system. (i.e.” I went to get the paper and forgot to turn off the alarm” or “The cleaning lady came and I forgot to leave the alarm off.” or “I left the dog inside and it tripped the motion detector.”) In this case the alarm has functioned as it is intended to but has activated because the user did not follow the correct procedure to disarm the alarm system either prior to the event or took too long to disarm the alarm system after entry.

 

Police Department:   Unnecessary Police Response  An Unnecessary Police Response is when an alarm monitoring company or an individual requests police response to a location  as a result of an automatic burglar alarm signal and no crime or attempted crime has transpired.