FALSE ALARMS CAUSE ALARM; CRACKDOWN PLANNED TO CUT UNNECESSARY VISITS BY DEPUTIES.Byline: Kevin F. Sherry sherry [from Jérez], naturally dry fortified wine, pale amber to brown in tint. The term sherry originally referred to wines made from grapes grown in the region of Jérez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain; today it may refer to any of the Daily News Staff Writer The city will begin cracking cracking - cracker down on residents and businesses whose security systems repeatedly send out false alarms. The enforcement, which will result in fines for repeat offenders beginning Jan. 1, was prompted by sheriff's deputies assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. to Agoura Hills spending nearly one-third of their time responding to false-alarm calls. ``We find that oftentimes of·ten·times also oft·times adv. Frequently; repeatedly. Adv. 1. oftentimes - many times at short intervals; "we often met over a cup of coffee" frequently, oft, often, ofttimes we respond to the same business, the same residence time after time,'' said Lt. Tom Martin, the department's liaison to the city. Earlier this year Martin and the City Council met with the deputies who patrol Agoura Hills and asked them if there was anything the city could do to help law enforcement. Deputies cited false-alarm calls as a problem the council could do something about. In October, Martin presented the council with statistics on the pervasiveness per·va·sive adj. Having the quality or tendency to pervade or permeate: the pervasive odor of garlic. [From Latin perv of the false-alarm problem. Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 28, deputies responded to 4,399 calls of all types in Agoura Hills. Of that number, 1,441 calls were for ringing alarms. And of those alarm calls, 1,374 were false alarms. Those numbers mean that more than 31 percent of total calls and more than 95 percent of alarm calls served no purpose, Martin said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if `shocked' is strong enough a word,'' said Councilman Jeff Reinhardt. ``What a waste of resources.'' The city spends more than $1.9 million on its contract with the Sheriff's Department. To have more than 30 percent of patrol deputies' time spent for naught is unacceptable, Reinhardt said. ``We'd rather see that 30 percent of the time spent on something more important,'' he said. The false-alarm ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been is not new, but it has never been enforced. ``The ordinance has been on the books for a while,'' Martin said. ``It basically put all of the onus on the Sheriff's Department for notification for false alarms. We just don't have the manpower to do it ourselves.'' Beginning Jan. 1, the city will track false-alarm calls in a computer database and report repeat offenders to the Sheriff's Department for possible citation Citation (foaled 1945) U.S. Thoroughbred racehorse. In four seasons he won 32 of 45 races, finished second in ten, and third in two. He won the 1948 Triple Crown, and became the first horse to win $1 million. He set a world record in 1950 by running a mile in 1:33 3/5. . The first three false alarms at a location will result in warnings. Four calls in a one-year period will result in a $100 fine, five will cost $200 and six calls will result in a $500 fine. ``Our hope is, really, that it doesn't get that far,'' Martin said. False alarms that ring as a result of severe weather will not count against their owners. The multiple warnings will allow people plenty of time to fix their alarm problems before fines kick in, Reinhardt said. ``We think this is a gentle nudge nudge 1 tr.v. nudged, nudg·ing, nudg·es 1. To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal. 2. ,'' he said. Most false alarms are caused by people who ``just don't know how to operate their alarms,'' Martin said. Currently those people have no incentive to cut down on their false alarms. ``There are no penalties imposed,'' he said. ``So they're not compelled to fix them or to train their people.'' |
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