Police eye 900 system to curb false alarms
By SSN Staff
Updated Sat March 1, 2003
ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland - Faced with an increasing number of false alarms, the Newfoundland Department of Justice is looking toward a 1-900 system to make security system calls more efficient and effective.
According to a report in the St. John’s Telegram, the new system would charge an undisclosed fee to security companies for each call to report an alarm.
If the call resulted in a false alarm, the fee from the 1-900 call would be given to the police force to cover the cost of the response.
A special subcommittee of the Department of Justice, created to examine the issue of false alarms, and their impact, recommended the 1-900 system.
The subcommittee is made up of a wide range of officials, including representatives from the Department of Justice, the Department of Works, Services, and Transportation, representatives from the security alarm industry, the Better Business Bureau, and local chambers of commerce.
According to Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Chief Richard Deering, law enforcement officials respond to an average of 12,000 alarms per year, many of which turn out to be false.
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