Police look to 900 number to curb false alarms
By SSN Staff
Updated Thu February 13, 2003
February 13, 2003
ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland - Faced with an increasing number of false alarms, the Newfoundland Department of Justice is looking towards 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 go to the police force to cover the cost of the response.
A special sub-committee of the Department of Justice, created to examine the issue of false alarms, and their impact, recommended the 1-900 system. The sub-committee 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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