STAFF REPORT TO COUNCIL PUBLIC SAFETY AND CIVIC FACILITIES

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1 DATE: August STAFF REPORT TO COUNCIL PUBLIC SAFETY AND CIVIC FACILITIES 1100 Patricia Boulevard, Prince George, B.C., V2L 3V9 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: ATTACHMENT(S): MAYOR AND COUNCIL DEVON COOPER, MANAGER OF POLICE SUPPORT SERVICES Security Alarm System Bylaw June 3, 2011 Staff Report RECOMMENDATION(S): 1. THAT the Staff Report be received. 2. THAT Council gives First Three Readings to City of Prince George Security Alarm System Bylaw No. 6358, 1995, Amendment Bylaw No. 8376, PURPOSE: To amend the current Security Alarm System Bylaw No. 6358, 1995, Amendment Bylaw No. 7169, 2000 false alarm fee structure to a flat rate of $100 per police attendance at false alarms. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES: This issue relates to Council s priority project-financial Sustainability, in that it deals with a recovery to help cover the cost of responding to false alarms and at the same time promotes efficient use of police resources. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS: After surveying other Municipalities and their current security alarm fees structures, administration would like to propose a flat fee of $100 to be applied to each false alarm that the police attend regardless of the residents prior RCMP attendance record. The proposed fee structure would be less cumbersome to administer for staff and would cover the costs of the RCMP attendance at the false alarms and the staff costs to administer the fines. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: Given the potential impact on police resources of the changes in the way alarm system providers are operating, administration feels that by levying a fine for all false alarms the original intention of the bylaw will remain allowing for more effective use of our limited police resources. Respectfully submitted: Devon Cooper, CGA MANAGER OF POLICE SUPPORT SERVICES To: Mayor and Council

2 DATE: June STAFF REPORT TO COUNCIL PUBLIC SAFETY AND CIVIC FACILITIES 1100 Patricia Boulevard, Prince George, B.C., V2L 3V9 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: MAYOR AND COUNCIL ROB WHITWHAM, DIRECTOR, PUBLIC SAFETY AND CIVIC FACILITIES Security Alarm System Bylaw ATTACHMENT(S): Security Alarm System Bylaw No. 6358, 1995 Security Alarm System Bylaw No. 6358, 1995, Amendment Bylaw No. 7169, 2000 RECOMMENDATION(S): 1. THAT the Staff Report be received. 2. THAT Staff be directed to return a bylaw amendment for Council s consideration. PURPOSE: The Security Alarm System Bylaw is a bylaw that established fees for services provided in response to a false alarm of an alarm system. The bylaw was intended to reduce the number of unnecessary emergency police responses resulting from the false alarm of a security alarm system. The purpose of this report is to advise Council of recent changes in the way alarm service providers are operating in Prince George and the possible effect on police resources. POLICY / REGULATORY ANALYSIS: The effectiveness of Security Alarm System Bylaw No. 6358, 1995, Amendment Bylaw No. 7169, 2000 may be impacted by recent changes in the way alarm service providers are operating in Prince George. Administration, in conjunction with the RCMP, is recommending that Council consider changes to the bylaw in order to maintain the effectiveness of the bylaw. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES: This issue relates to Council s priority project Financial Sustainability, in that it deals with a recovery to help cover the cost of responding to false alarms, and at the same time promotes efficient use of police resources. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS: The Security Alarm System Bylaw allows police attendance at two false alarms within a twelve month period. Fines under the bylaw are levied on police attendance on the 3 rd, 4 th 5 th and subsequent false alarms in the preceding twelve month period. The bylaw has served its purpose in that revenue from false alarms dropped

3 annually each year after the bylaw was implemented, and in recent years the false alarm revenue has remained static. This pattern suggests that the bylaw has had the desired effect of reducing false alarms. Recent changes in the way alarm system providers are operating in Prince George raises the potential for the number of security alarm calls to police to increase dramatically. If that happens, the police attendance at false alarms will in all likelihood increase proportionately resulting in a corresponding drain on limited police resources. Administration and the RCMP are recommending bylaw changes that will result in a fine being levied for each false alarm, and that the amount of the fines is increased. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: The recent changes in the way alarm system providers are operating is a result of the entry into the local market of door to door solicitors selling security alarm systems. Administration and the RCMP are aware of practices where these solicitors tell prospective clients that they have a special arrangement with the RCMP and that the RCMP automatically attends when the security alarm is triggered. There is also some question as to the quality of the systems being sold and whether the systems are technically suited for the particular application. The ultimate goal of the door to door solicitor is to sell an alarm monitoring contract. Alarm system providers who operate in a more traditional manner have mechanisms in place to attempt to verify the validity of the alarm before calling police. Those mechanisms involve attempting to contact the property owner, the owner s designated representative, and depending on the company, dispatching company patrol personnel to verify the validity of the alarm. The intent is to prevent police being called to false alarms, thereby saving the customer from a potential fine. The intent is also to ensure that if there is a problem with the alarm system, the problem is rectified so that it does not reoccur. The marketing techniques employed by the door to door solicitors has resulted in the customers of the more traditional alarm system providers asking for the same level of police response. Administration and the RCMP are aware of at least one alarm system provider who has responded to customer demands and changed policy so that the RCMP are called to respond to the first two alarms within a twelve month period. Additional alarms above and beyond the first two in twelve month period will result in the dispatch of company patrol personnel. The new alarm dispatch procedures are advertised as protecting the security system owner from City False Alarm Fines. This clearly has the potential to inundate the RCMP with security alarm calls, many of which may be false. A recent test of the new alarm dispatch procedure resulted in a significant spike in the number of alarm system calls to the RCMP. ALTERNATIVES: Keeping the status quo is an alternative, but Administration and the RCMP believe that the potential consequences are unacceptable. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: Given the potential impact on police resources of the changes in the way alarm system providers are operating, Administration and the RCMP recommend a bylaw amendment that will provide for a fine on all false alarms and an increase in the fine amounts. If Council is supportive of the recommendation, Administration will bring back a bylaw amendment for Council s consideration. Respectfully submitted: Rob Whitwham Director, Public Safety and Civic Facilities To: Mayor and Council

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