False Security Alarms Attract Penalties

False Alarm Penalties by Montgomery County Police

Summer is the time when the law enforcement officers have a lot to deal with. The last thing they want is false alarms going off ever so often! Take the example of the Montgomery County Police. This department is tired of rushing out to help residents in danger only to realize that the alarm was triggered accidentally. The repeated false home security alarms have pushed them to declare hefty fines on residents who cannot control their alarm system from going off.

As a rule, the Montgomery County Police makes allowances for one false security alarm to go unpunished in one calendar year. For the second offense, the residents have to pay $25. The fines go up in amount for every successive offense and it can escalate to about $1000! For commercial alarm users, the same amount can be as high as $4000. The fines are designed to ensure that the residents are more careful about the use of home alarms. It has become a cause for concern in the law enforcement department because they are spending resources to rush in aid and then going back without making any productive input.

How can residents be more careful about home security alarms? To begin with, the doors and windows need to be bolted tight. You can use surge protectors or suppressors on the alarms and phone lines that trigger the monitoring system. Keep a close check on the battery life of the alarm systems. The resident owner, or anyone who knows how to work the alarms, must educate the others in the household. Everyone must be on the same page when it comes to knowing about alarm timers and motion sensors. Pets can trigger alarms, and so can power outages.