ABILENE, Texas — The city of Abilene has implemented a new ordinance aimed at reducing the number of false alarms that the Abilene Police Department respond to.
The first, second and third false alarms will not result in a fine, but fourth and fifth calls will prompt a $50 fine, according to a KTXS report. The sixth and seventh will result in a $75 fine, and any other additional false alarms will be $100.
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The ordinance, passed 6-1 by the city council, was approved after only 5% of 5,000 alarm calls that the APD responded to in 2014 ended up being related to actual crimes.
“Those alarms are priority No. 1, which means they have to be dispatched between two minutes of receiving the notice,” Abilene Police Chief Stan Standridge said.
The council also approved a yearly permit for those owning a security alarm system — $20 for homeowners and $50 for business owners.
The city has 4,182 residential security systems and 1,682 commercial systems registered, according to the report.
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