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By Joanne Huist Smith, Staff Writer Updated 7:20 PM Thursday, April 15, 2010

DAYTON — The Dayton Police Department plans to get tougher on home and business owners with security alarm systems that continually summon officers with false alarms.

The city responded to 6,911 false alarms in 2009, including 39 calls to a single business on North Broadway Street. Police data show 27 percent of the false alarms are due to human error.

“We get there and people say, ‘sorry,’ ” Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said on Wednesday, April 14.

Most of the time police respond and no one is there. The cause of the alarm is unknown, said Biehl, adding that the false alarms, overall, cost the city about $100,000 in 2009.

The city’s alarm ordinance became law in May 1997 to protect emergency services of the police department from responding to defective alarm systems and excessive false alarms. A provision in the ordinance that permits the police department to disconnect a system that makes excessive false alarms will now be enforced.

A disconnect order basically means no signals are to be emitted to the Dayton police from the alarm, directly or indirectly.

“We have not enforced disconnects, but we do have authority in this ordinance to do this,” Biehl said.

Also under the current law, alarm users are required to register their system with the city and pay a $10 fee. Users are given information regarding penalties for false alarms at that time.

During a rolling 12-month period, the first false alarm at an address receives Dayton police response without negative consequence. After a second false alarm, a warning is left at the site to advise the owner of the police response.

Upon the third false alarm, a $50 fee is imposed. The fee increases by $50 for each false alarm up to $250 for the seventh. After the seventh false alarm, the alarm will be disconnected within 10 days.

Failure to register an alarm in 90 days or failure to pay false alarm fees also could result in an order of disconnect, under an amendment proposed by Biehl. The ordinance already includes an appeal process. That amendment is expected to go before the City Commission for a vote within two weeks.

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