Police Called to 2,200 False Alarms Last Year

Here's part of the police log from one morning in late February:

3:17 a.m. -- Alarm at fast food restaurant on Royalton Road. Worker put in wrong code.

6:11 a.m. -- Front door alarm at Pearl Road restaurant. Building checks secure, delivery truck just leaving. 

6:19 a.m. -- Alarm at the Royalton Road restaurant again. Manager there; it was set off in error.

8:13 a.m. -- Alarm at a home on Abigail Lane. Checks OK, house is secure. 

Hardly a day goes by that Strongsville police aren't called to a burglar alarm -- in fact, with 2,199 reported last year, it averages six a day.

The vast majority are false. Something other than a burglar -- the wind, an employee -- triggers the alarm.

But even though police have to check out every one, Police Chief Charles Goss doesn't consider them a major problem. 

"Those kind of calls usually take a few minutes," Goss said. 

And he said false alarms aren't a steep price to pay for the security they provide.

"It's a trade-off," Goss said. "On the rare occasion someone is breaking in, those alarms can help us make an arrest."

He cited a break-in a in January in which after an alarm cut short their heist and alerted police.

Still, there were so many repeat false alarms that in 2001, the city decided to start charging for them. At a home, if police are called more than three times in a calendar year, the city can bill the homeowner $50 every additional time they're called out.

For a business, it's stricter. Police can start billing after two false alarms, and the fee is $100 per callout.

More than two false fire alarms in a calendar year means a $250 fine for each additional one.

In 2011, the city billed businesses $5,900 for repeated false alarms, according to the Building Department. Residential fees only amounted to $150. 

Plenty of things trigger an alarm, according to reports. Dogs often set them off in homes. In one recent case, a balloon left over from a birthday party apparently floated in front of a sensor. In a restaurant, an was the culprit.

At businesses, they are routinely set off by cleaning crews, delivery people and employees stopping by after-hours. The wind and power outages can often trip alarms.

Goss said the department doesn't always charge alarm owners, even after they've reached their yearly allotment.

"If there's a mitigating reason, like a storm, or if a raccoon gets in, the fees are waived," he said.