WHEREAS the false alarm rate of most municipalities currently runs at or near 99; AND WHEREAS false alarms are inherently dangerous to the public as they take away essential police services from other real emergencies requiring police attendance; AND WHEREAS false alarms are wasteful of municipal resources in both essential protectiveinvestigative services provided by the police and the unnecessary financial burden that this places on communities as a whole; AND WHEREAS some police agencies have sought quick fix solutions by not attending any unverified alarm calls, resulting in a withdrawal of police services, a public who feel that the police dont care, and increases in break-and-enter rates within their respective communities as thieves realize that the police will not likely attend; AND WHEREAS a properly crafted Security Alarm Bylaw coupled with an effective False Alarm Reduction Program is the best way in which to solve the false alarm epidemic which plagues most communities in North America: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities urge its membership to adopt a bylaw similar to the Security Alarm System Bylaw currently used by the City of Vancouver.
Information on the City of Vancouvers Security Alarm System Bylaw was transmitted to UBCM members in the December 2005 issue of the UBCM News.