Police Commission Approves New Burglar Alarm Policy
LOS ANGELES
The Los Angeles Police Commission voted 4-1 July 22 to adopt Mayor Jim Hahn’s compromise alarm policy for the police department.
Officers will be required to respond to two false alarms a year per address, then require verification for each subsequent alarm before responding. The mayor said this procedure should cut the number of alarms police respond to by 55 percent.
Hahn’s plan also includes charging alarm owners $95 the first time police respond to a false call. A second response to a false alarm within a year costs $145, and each subsequent response would be $50 on top of that. Fines for non-permit alarm owners double.
Under the original order approved by the commission in January, police would not respond to burglar alarms unless first verified by a person or via video. Police would still respond to panic alarms as a priority call.
New Police Commissioner Alan Skobin told fellow board members during the meeting he felt there was little community support requiring all alarms to be verified before officers would respond. “I don’t believe there’s the depth of community support for this (earlier) plan, but instead anger and hostility toward the department,” Skobin said.
David Cunningham, commission vice president, said he intended to vote against Hahn’s plan, but he changed his mind after Skobin’s comments. Commission President Rick Caruso was the only member to vote no.
Supporters said Hahn’s plan struck a balance between the need to couple police resources and address community concerns. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who has advocated the city’s burglar alarm task force’s policy recommendations with other councilmembers, applauded her brother’s compromise proposal, saying it allows residents to feel safe while significantly reducing the amount of police resources spent responding to false alarms.
Further details on the policy will be provided.
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