Prescott Valley AZ Dec 31 2017 Prescott Valley Police officers will stop responding to burglar alarms unless they are “verified” on January 1, according to PVPD spokesman Jerry Ferguson.
The plan in called Verified Alarm Response, and it requires confirmation that a crime, attempted crime, or other emergency is occurring or about to occur.
Ferguson said the verification can be by witnesses or by a remote audio-video security system.
If an alarm company calls police, it must first confirm the alarm is legitimate, and if an alarm company knowingly or intentionally reports an unconfirmed alarm as verified, the company faces a $500 fine.
“Once you’ve had a false alarm,” Ferguson said, “the alarm ordinance requires that all alarm systems be registered with the Prescott Valley False Alarm Reduction Program.”
PVPD responded to 772 burglar alarms in 2016, 766 of which were false.
Ferguson noted that the resources required to respond to 766 false alarms would pay for another police officer.
A temporary 24-hour phone line has been set up for people to leave questions or other messages about the new ordinance. Call 928-772-5650 and your message will be returned.

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