Councilmember David A. Catania - Catania Reintroduces Legislation To Reduce The Number Of False Alarms In The District

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February 4, 2012
02:54 pm
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Catania Reintroduces Legislation To Reduce The Number Of False Alarms In The District

WASHINGTON DC..Tuesday, Councilmember David A. Catania (At-Large) introduced legislation to establish a new regulatory system for the security and fire alarm system businesses and users in the District of Columbia. Additionally, the bill assesses penalties to alarm users for each false alarm in excess of three within a 365-day period. The legislation was first introduced in July of 2001, and the Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs held a hearing on the bill in the fall of 2002. Catania reintroduced the bill for the new legislative session.

“Our police and fire departments are forced to spend our valuable resources responding to repeated false alarms, keeping them from focusing on real emergencies,“ Catania said. He continued, “This legislation provides reasonable deterrents to residents and the alarm industry in order to reduce the millions of dollars wasted per year on these false alarms“.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, they respond to approximately 82,000 false calls-for-service per year involving security alarms. The annual cost of responding to these false alarms is estimated to be in excess of 2.5 and 3.5 million dollars, or 56,000 officer hours.

The “Security and Fire Alarm Systems Regulations Act of 2003“ would require the Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to establish a regulatory program that will govern the licensing of the alarm businesses in the District of Columbia. Under the legislation, all companies and individuals who sell, install, or service alarms will be required to obtain an Alarm Business or Agent License from the DCRA.

Additionally, every alarm user in the District will be required to register their alarm with the DCRA and pay a nonrefundable alarm user registration fee.. If the alarm is not contracted with an alarm business for monitoring, that alarm user will be required to provide DCRA with the names of two contacts who can disarm the system. Those two names must be filed with DCRA and posted on the premises in a conspicuous location.

After each false alarm, the MPD or the Fire and Emergency Management Services Department will provide the alarm user with a notice advising them of the false alarm. It will also be reported to the DCRA. Under the legislation authored by Catania, if a user causes more than three false alarms within a 365-day period, that user will be assessed a false alarm response fee that escalates for each succeeding false alarm. Additionally, after three false alarms, an alarm user will be required to have their system inspected by an alarm business and certified that it is in proper working order. After 10 false alarms within a 365-day period, the DCRA may revoke an alarm user's registration.

The legislation introduced today was referred to the Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. For more information regarding this legislation, contact the Office of Councilmember Catania at 202.724.7772.