A Los Angeles newspaper reports that despite a new alarm ordinance with limited verified response going into effect in the city on Jan. 1, Los Angeles police are continuing to respond to virtually all burglar alarm calls including repeated false alarms from the same location. The Los Angeles Daily News says of the 11,821 burglar alarm calls the Los Angeles Police Department recorded in January, police responded to all but 27 despite the new policy where addresses with more than two false alarms in a year would require a response only after the incident could be verified by a caller at the scene or other outside source. The LAPD says 96.7 percent of the calls were false alarms.

The Daily News also reports in the first five weeks of the year, 353 addresses had three or more false alarms and 1,163 had two or more false alarms. The new LAPD policy went into effect Jan. 1 pending L.A. City Council debate on a revised alarm ordinance.

The draft of the council’s new ordinance was revealed Feb. 17 by Councilwoman Janice Hahn during a meeting of the Greater Los Angeles Security Alarm Association (GLASAA) and proposes a $115 fee for a first false alarm.

A spokesperson for LAPD Chief William Bratton told the Daily News that he still believes his department should stop responding to all unverified alarms. “His position is the same as it’s always been – he wants to get out of the business of answering alarms,” Bratton spokesperson Mary Grady said. “At this point we’re still in the business of answering alarms, which is contrary to what the chief wants.”

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