SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP) has endorsed the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) model alarm ordinance opposing regulations adopted in Sandy Springs.
SIAC maintains the model ordinance would reduce dispatches to nuisance alarms by better training users and improving their equipment, as well as fining them directly rather than fining the alarm companies like Sandy Springs does.
In December a federal court dismissed a SIAC-supported lawsuit brought against Sandy Springs by the Georgia Electronic Life Safety & Systems Association (GELSSA), A-Com Security Co. and Safecom Security Solutions. The security industry argued the law violates the company’s constitutional rights by fining them for customers’ mistakes.
GELSSA and its industry plaintiffs filed an appeal to the federal court’s decision Jan. 10.
Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn, who formerly served as the alarm systems committee chair for the GACP, said the group decided to endorse the model ordinance because it believes false alarm ordinances should fine citizens instead of the alarm companies, reporternewspapers.net reports.
GACP also opposes requiring verification before a law enforcement response. “In our view, it’s not fair to fine the alarm companies,” he said.
Ordinances that require verification hinder crime prevention, he said. Flynn believes law enforcement should arrive as soon as an alarm goes off, not when a crime is in progress, he told reporternewspapers.net.
“I want to get there as soon as I can,” he said.
Marietta has an ordinance that fines citizens for false alarms, which have dropped by 70% since adopting that strategy, Flynn said.
“It’s manageable for us, and the crime rate has gone down,” he said.
