False alarms on Fort Worth security systems stretch police resources

Through the first half of 2024, Fort Worth police responded to more than 10,600 alarm calls. Of those, less than 2% resulted in a police report.

False alarms are a consistent problem for the police department, Assistant Chief Robert Alldredge told City Council members at an Aug. 20 work session. Over the years, the false alarm rate has consistently been above 90%.

Those statistics prompted District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck to question how much other cities charge for alarm registrations. In Fort Worth, residential security system permits cost $50 annually, and commercial security system permits cost $100 annually.

“It does seem like it’s a pretty significant suck on our system right now,” Beck said. “We need to free those officers up to do important work, not (answer) false alarms.”

Research shows that false alarms can cost police departments millions each year, and between 94% to 99% of all alarm calls are false activations.

Each permit holder is allowed three false alarm calls before they start to incur fees. If there are four to five false alarms in a year, a permit holder is required to pay $50 for each call. If there are six to seven false alarms, the fee increases to $75 per call, and if the permit holder has eight or more false alarms, they must pay $100 per call.

From January to July, there were 418 locations that had five or more alarm calls, according to police department data. Twelve businesses had 20 or more alarm calls.

Alldredge told council members that when a business has a significant number of false alarm calls, the neighborhood patrol officer in the area will start a conversation with the owner about getting the system checked out and making sure there aren’t sensor issues.

This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.