Stumbled on a stat about false alarms that made me rethink my whole approach

I was reading through some old industry reports last night and came across a number that really caught me off guard. Turns out something like 94 to 98 percent of all alarm calls to police are false alarms, depending on the area. I had no idea it was that high, figured it was maybe half that at most. Has anyone else seen data like this from their local jurisdictions? I'm wondering if it's changing how you guys sell or install systems.

3 comments

3 Comments

ninaowens27d ago

Wait, have you seen the same thing in your area? I manage properties and I swear half our tenant calls are false alarms from those cheap motion detectors picking up their pets or even a plant moving from the AC vent. One guy set his off three times in a week because he kept forgetting the code and the installation guy barely showed him how to arm it. Better dual tech sensors would fix most of that, but you're right that people just grab the cheapest kit online and never look back. It's frustrating because you want the system to actually help, but folks treat it like a magic button they can ignore until the cops show up.

the_lee27d ago

That 94-98% number is a bit misleading actually. Most of those stats lump in all police dispatched calls including things like faulty equipment, user error, and weather related triggers. Legitimate burglary or intrusion alarms make up way less of that false rate than people think. The real problem is too many systems get installed with cheap motion sensors that can't tell a cat from a person. Or installers never teach customers how to set the system right. That drives the false numbers way up. Also those reports from like 10 years ago. Newer tech with dual tech sensors and better verification cuts false alarms a lot. Some places I've seen are down to 80% false now instead of 98%. So the stat is real but the blame gets spread wrong. Better equipment and training is the fix not ditching alarm systems completely.

fiona_west2127d ago

You're basically saying the fix is better sensors and training, but that ignores how many people just won't pay for that stuff lmao. The average person buys the cheapest system they can find and never reads the manual, so you're still stuck with the same false alarm problem no matter how good the tech gets. Honestly maybe ditching alarm systems isn't the worst idea if they waste police time 80% of the time regardless of the excuse.