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Police Operations and Data Analysis Report, Morgan Hill, California
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Alarm Reduction Program
False alarms are a source of inefficiency for police operations. The alarm industry is a strong
advocate of developing ordinances and procedures to address police response to false alarms and
will work closely with any agency exploring this issue. The 98 percent of alarm calls that are false
are caused by user error, and this can be addressed by alarm management programs. During the
study period the MHPD responded to more than 1,100 alarm calls, or 10.3 percent of all other-
initiated CFS. The response to the overwhelming majority of these calls is undoubtedly
unnecessary, and an inefficient use of police resources.
Currently, Morgan Hill has a robust and well-designed set of alarm regulations. Chapter 8.48 of the
Morgan Hill City Code, entitled “Burglary and Robbery Alarm Regulations,” governs this program.
According to this code, there are fees for alarm registration and monetary penalties for repeated
false alarms. The first false alarm carries a penalty of $100 and each false alarm recorded thereafter
carries a $200 penalty.
The city and the MHPD should be commended for enacting this code and the administration of the
program. Chapter 8.48 is an excellent piece of legislation and one of the best designed alarm
ordinances seen by CPSM. However, false alarm calls still require a commitment of patrol resources
by the MHPD and additional steps could be taken to further reduce unnecessary responses and
strengthen an already sound program.
For example, a double-call verification protocol is becoming the norm across the country. Under
such a program an alarm CFS is verified by the 911 dispatcher with the alarm company before an
officer is dispatched to respond. Also, the city should consider making greater use of the data it
collects on the false alarms already recorded. Analysis of the data could reveal certain companies
that have a poor record of installation. High-frequency alarm violators could be identified and
visited by sworn personnel to identify reasons behind the false alarms. In addition to a permit
system for individual alarm users, a permit system could be instituted for alarm companies to
ensure appropriate installation and maintenance. As well, the city could consider raising fees
associated with false commercial alarms. It appears that false commercial alarms might be viewed
as a cost of doing business. If these business costs were increased then commercial business might
take them more seriously and the deployment of unnecessary police resources could be avoided.
The MHPD has done an excellent job minimizing these unnecessary CFS and more focused attention
to this area could have an even greater impact.
Miscellaneous
Table 3-1 also shows that Morgan Hill officers handled 1,131 “miscellaneous” CFS (10.1 percent of
all CFS) from the public. This category of CFS is generally used to label calls that are not criminal in
nature and have a limited relationship to police responsibilities. This category essentially becomes
a catch-all for calls that are dispatched to patrol units, but that are not police-related.
Combined, these two categories of CFS (1,154 alarms and 1,131 miscellaneous calls) amount to
approximately 20.4 percent of all citizen-initiated CFS in the study period. Essentially, one-fifth of
the calls handled by the MHPD are nonemergency, and possibly nonpolice-related activities. These