$75 every 3 years to have cops respond to my home alarm system

[rh71]

WTF are taxes for ?!

They send me US Mail saying this law has been in affect since 1991 and it's time that I get a permit (I've been here 2 years). Well that's great that this is a law, but why exactly am I paying separately for this permit ? FVCK - like they don't charge us enough in taxes... friggin $5k per year... my parents pay $10k per year in the next town and they will have to do the same.

 

[Mookow]

I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

 

[AFB]

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

Yep

 

[godmare]

imo, home alarms aren't worth the hassle.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

Exactly. Most police departments are too busy as it is.

 

[mugs]

Because burglar alarms are a nuisance for them. They have to respond to every false alarm.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

yeap.

but then again it my just be a for having a alarm system.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

Exactly -- some huge percent of the alarms are false, and your local government decided to charge alarm owners extra to cover the cost instead of having non-owners subsidize you.

 

[rh71]

(got it).

 

[jagec]

Dude, it's $25/year. Chill. I'm sure the 7 cents a day isn't going to break your budget.

And it's not like they're FORCING you to pay it...it's part of owning an alarm. Strange that the company doesn't include that in their bill though...

 

[The Stigenator]

LA City has this rule too. Its for false alarms. I think for us its 35 dollars a year for the permit for home alarm system. LAPD wont respond for false alarms, so the alarm monitoring company will have to keep up otherwise. If your not paid up, you wont hear from LAPD for a false alarm. You get 3 false alarms per year, after which you have to fork up 200/alarm i think.

I like the one that Glendale and Burbank have, 36 bucks for the year for emergency house calls by paremedics.. something that would cost 200 per visit otherwise.

 

[MacBaine]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

Applying/paying for this permit will not reduce false alarms.

Overall, yes, it will dramatically reduce false alarms.

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

Applying/paying for this permit will not reduce false alarms. My parents' dog has caused 2 false alarms in the past by hitting the motion sensor...

I'm reading 5 false alarms in a 90 day period can result in suspension of your permit. But WHY AGAIN do we need to pay for this permit separately from tax dollars in the first place ?

Further reading:

respond to over 125000 false alarms each year. Legislation adopted in 91 because of concerns over police officer safety and to eliminate the misuse of police resources.

What does buying/paying for a permit have to do with any of this ?!?!

WTF should I have to pay taxes for the cops to respond to those 125000 false alarms? For your parents dog? I shouldn't. That's why YOU have to pay for it.

Sorry.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: MacBaine

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

Applying/paying for this permit will not reduce false alarms.

Overall, yes, it will dramatically reduce false alarms.

Well then this law set in '91 isn't doing its job if they are reporting that they "respond to over 125000 false alarms each year."

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: armatron

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

Applying/paying for this permit will not reduce false alarms. My parents' dog has caused 2 false alarms in the past by hitting the motion sensor...

I'm reading 5 false alarms in a 90 day period can result in suspension of your permit. But WHY AGAIN do we need to pay for this permit separately from tax dollars in the first place ?

Further reading:

respond to over 125000 false alarms each year. Legislation adopted in 91 because of concerns over police officer safety and to eliminate the misuse of police resources.

What does buying/paying for a permit have to do with any of this ?!?!

WTF should I have to pay taxes for the cops to respond to those 125000 false alarms? For your parents dog? I shouldn't. That's why YOU have to pay for it.

Sorry.

I'm not asking you to pay for it in your taxes. I'm saying the tax money already pays for police work. Sorry, but false alarms are part of police work. Reported burglaries are police work, even if it turns out nothing was stolen. Are they busy all the time or do you see them hanging out at donut shops ?

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: MacBaine

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Mookow
I'm guessing it is due to false alarms.

Applying/paying for this permit will not reduce false alarms.

Overall, yes, it will dramatically reduce false alarms.

Well then this law set in '91 isn't doing its job if they are reporting that they "respond to over 125000 false alarms each year."

imagine what it would be if they didn't have the permits in place.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: rh71
I'm not asking you to pay for it in your taxes. I'm saying the tax money already pays for police work. Sorry, but false alarms are part of police work. Reported burglaries are police work, even if it turns out nothing was stolen. Are they busy all the time or do you see them hanging out at donut shops ?

In AZ i see them busy all the time. I know a local cop here and he has some nights (a 10 hour shift) where he doesn't even get time to eat dinner.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: pyonir

Originally posted by: rh71
I'm not asking you to pay for it in your taxes. I'm saying the tax money already pays for police work. Sorry, but false alarms are part of police work. Reported burglaries are police work, even if it turns out nothing was stolen. Are they busy all the time or do you see them hanging out at donut shops ?

In AZ i see them busy all the time. I know a local cop here and he has some nights (a 10 hour shift) where he doesn't even get time to eat dinner.

Why don't they just go ahead and list for us what actually constitutes police work that our tax dollars are paying for ? Do we have to get into technicalities ?

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: MacBaine
Overall, yes, it will dramatically reduce false alarms.

Well then this law set in '91 isn't doing its job if they are reporting that they "respond to over 125000 false alarms each year."

.......


I'm not asking you to pay for it in your taxes. I'm saying the tax money already pays for police work. Sorry, but false alarms are police work. Are they busy all the time or do you see them hanging out at donut shops ?

If they didn't have the law that number would probably go WAY up.

And guess what, "police work" is not an infinite source. If suddenly the crimes in your area doubled, do you think the police department could handle it at the current rate of funding? No, they could not. The same goes for having to respond to a bunch of false alarms. If they have to respond to so many false alarms that it is draining resources from other enforcement work, they will need more funding. They can either get that from taxes, which means non-alarm owners are subsidizing YOUR false alarms, or they can charge alarm owners.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: pyonir

Originally posted by: rh71
I'm not asking you to pay for it in your taxes. I'm saying the tax money already pays for police work. Sorry, but false alarms are part of police work. Reported burglaries are police work, even if it turns out nothing was stolen. Are they busy all the time or do you see them hanging out at donut shops ?

In AZ i see them busy all the time. I know a local cop here and he has some nights (a 10 hour shift) where he doesn't even get time to eat dinner.

Why don't they just go ahead and list for us what actually constitutes police work that our tax dollars are paying for ? Do we have to get into technicalities ?

when it becomes a big enough problem that the technicalities are pulling officers away from other things than false alarms, then yes...we have to get into technicalities.

 

[mugs]

Regardless of whether it reduces false alarms or not, it pays for the cop that has to drive to your house and check on it when you have a false alarm. Yes your taxes are paying for the police, and yes there are false reports of burglaries, but people with alarm systems cause an overwhelmingly disproportionate number of false alarms per year, and the people who DON'T cause those false alarms should not be forced to subsidize your paranoia. If you have to bitch about a $25 a year fee, you're clearly too poor to even warrant having an alarm.

Do you think they can respond to 125,000 false calls per year without adding additional manpower? No, so YOU get to pay for the extra officers.

 

[waggy]

I agree. take away the fee.

Instead lets impose a false alarm fee. Every time the dog sets off the alarm charge them $200.

 

[QTPie]

<Imagine>
Cops are sitting @ Winchell Doughnut
Alarm goes off....
He's got a call from the station...
"Before I go there, can you check if that address has a permit?"
"hmm... this address doesn't have a permit..."
"Forget about it. Lemme enjoy my free coffee &amp; doghnut , I'll stop by later!"
</Imagine>

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: waggy
I agree. take away the fee.

Instead lets impose a false alarm fee. Every time the dog sets off the alarm charge them $200.

Or arrest them for making a false report

A home alarm is a voluntary luxury, that causes more than its fair share of false alarms, so they make alarm owners pay as a group for the extra expense they create.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: pyonir

Originally posted by: rh71
I'm not asking you to pay for it in your taxes. I'm saying the tax money already pays for police work. Sorry, but false alarms are part of police work. Reported burglaries are police work, even if it turns out nothing was stolen. Are they busy all the time or do you see them hanging out at donut shops ?

In AZ i see them busy all the time. I know a local cop here and he has some nights (a 10 hour shift) where he doesn't even get time to eat dinner.

Why don't they just go ahead and list for us what actually constitutes police work that our tax dollars are paying for ? Do we have to get into technicalities ?

Or why don't they just list the services I pay for with my taxes that I NEVER use, like responding to false alarms for people with alarm systems. I don't want my taxes wasted on protecting people with house alarms, if the alarm system isn't effective. IE, if they only reported TRUE alarms, I woudn't care. However, they DO have a VERY HIGH false alarm rate, so the better question is: Why is everyone w/o an alarm paying to respond to YOUR false calls?

An extra tax/charge is very justified, it isn't your right to have an alarm system. The government is there to protect your rights, not your privlages. You pay for a drivers license, did you bitch about that too?