Found a weird stat about false alarms from my local PD report

I was looking through the Phoenix police department's annual stats last night and saw that over 60% of their alarm calls last year were false. That's like 12,000 dispatches for nothing. Makes me think we really gotta push better motion sensor placement with customers, maybe cut down on the pet triggers. Anyone else see numbers like this from their local area?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_coleman11d ago

Hold on, that 60% number might actually be a good thing if you think about what it really means. All those false calls mean people are actually using their systems and testing them which is way better than having a real break-in and the alarm not working because nobody ever set it. Plus if you crack down too hard on motion sensor placement you're gonna end up with customers who disable their whole system because they're sick of it going off every time their cat walks through the living room at 2 AM. I'd rather have 12,000 false dispatches than one family getting robbed because they turned their alarm off permanently. Those false alarm numbers also help the PD justify keeping their response teams staffed up and ready.

finley_bennett2811d ago

@joseph_coleman I get what you're saying but that 60% figure is still way too high. From my own experience with installing these systems, most false alarms come from people not knowing how to properly aim their motion sensors. A simple fix like pointing them away from windows, vents, or pet areas cuts those numbers down fast. The problem is alarm companies don't spend enough time teaching customers the basics. You're right about people disabling systems, but there's a middle ground. Better placement and basic education can keep false calls low without scaring people into turning everything off. Police departments don't need false alarms to stay staffed, they need real threats to justify their budgets.