(Photo 26346098 / Alarm © Valentin M Armianu | Dreamstime.com)

By rdnewsNOW staff

safety issue

Red Deerians encouraged to prevent false alarms requiring RCMP response

Jun 2, 2022 | 4:51 PM

RCMP in Red Deer are offering up tips to help the public understand how to prevent false alarms.

In 2021, local Mounties responded to 812 false alarm reports. There have been an average of 15 to 20 per week through the first five months of 2022.

“We receive hundreds of false alarm calls every year. We can’t know which are false alarms and which are genuine calls needing police assistance, so we prioritize and respond to each call,” said Cpl. Mike Evans, Red Deer RCMP. “As it takes a considerable amount of resources to confirm the wellbeing of the individuals at those locations, we are asking our community to take steps to prevent false alarms.”

Common culprits of false alarms include bumping an alarm during cleaning, forgetting the code, moving into a new house with an existing alarm and not being familiar with it, and settings which don’t accomodate child or pet activity.

“At the end of the day, a security system exists to make you and our community safer. False alarms actually do the exact opposite of that,” said Cpl. Evans.

no flag or crosswalk requests received

Didsbury citizens' group vehemently opposed to proposed 'Public Spaces Neutrality Bylaw'

1h ago

makin' stuff up!

Thurber improv team wins regionals, will head to Ottawa

2h ago

travel occurred march 10

Measles exposure reportedly travelled from Calgary to Red Deer, Edmonton and Grande Prairie

2h ago

Red Deer RCMP offer the following tips to homeowners and commercial property managers to avoid false alarms:

Residential properties:

· Make sure everyone in the house knows how to use the system properly.

· Complete regular maintenance on your security system to ensure all components are functional. If different components of your system use batteries, ensure they are not running low.

· Let your security system provider know if you have a kid or pet so it can anticipate that activity.

· Floating balloons, hanging decorations and objects placed up high that become destabilized can all set off an alarm.

· Ensure doors and window are properly closed and latched.

· Ensure your alarm monitoring company calls you. Silent alarm setting may result in you not even knowing your alarm is going off.

· Remind friends or guests staying with you about your alarm.

Commercial properties:

· Ensure employees or property managers understand how the system works.

· Work with your security system provider to test your alarm every three months and ensure procedures are in place for all employee/property managers.

The City of Red Deer has an alarm bylaw to encourage the responsible use of alarm systems. Fines for false alarms range from $100 to $750 per event, and an additional response fee may be applied. For more information about the bylaw, please visit reddeer.ca/bylaws.