Whether a person is a homeowner or a business owner, they need to be penalized if they are wasting the time and resources of the Airdrie RCMP with false alarms.
Airdrie police respond to as many as five false alarm calls per day.
While officers are tending to an alarm call that a cat or a neighbour’s kid has set off, they are being distracted from other, potentially life-threatening situations.
The goal of the proposed Security Alarm Systems Bylaw (see story on page 7) is to reduce the number of repeat offenders, such as a business that had 12 false alarm calls in one month.
Break and enters or other legitimate calls will not be subject to fines from the bylaw.
Some Airdrie business owners are concerned about the difference in fines for residential and commercial alarms, but as RCMP Staff Sgt. Dennis Esayenko said, commercial calls take more time and more than one officer to respond to, as there are generally more entry points and a larger area to search.
Yes, the fines are higher than in other communities. But since the inception of the Fire Alarm Bylaw, Airdrie Fire officials say repeat occurrences of false alarms have fallen dramatically. These fines work.
The Airdrie RCMP is here to protect residents. How can officers do that when they are spending hours at false alarms?
We don’t think small businesses should be punished needlessly but negligent business owners should face consequences for repeat false alarms.
Actions must have consequences.
