False alarms to trigger fines starting in August
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Homeowners and businesses whose security systems repeatedly trigger false alarms will be fined $50 by the city under a new ordinance.
Honolulu police say 98 percent of the burglar alarms they respond to are false alarms, and they hope the new law will help curb that problem.
The law, signed by Mayor Jeremy Harris on Dec. 28, allows businesses and homeowners three false alarms per year before they are fined $50 on their fourth false alarm.
The fine will be waived if users attend an alarm class provided by the Honolulu Police Department, but subsequent false alarms will cost $50 each.
All burglar alarms installed on O'ahu after April 27 must be registered with the city at the time of installation.
Homeowners and businesses that already have burglar alarms have until Aug. 25 to complete registration.
There is a $100 fine for failure to register burglar alarms. In addition, there will be a $50 service charge assessed for each false alarm police respond to after the first three per year.
The police department said most alarm companies will be sending forms to users. Police are allowed to start issuing fines Aug. 26.
Police Chief Lee Donohue said false alarms take police officers away from important calls for service.
From 1990 to 1999, HPD responded to an average of more than 33,000 false alarms per year, said Maj. Louis Souza. Last year, police responded to 27,825 false alarms, he said.
Souza said 60 to 65 percent of the false alarms are attributed to "user error," with alarm owners punching in wrong codes, not leaving the building quickly enough after punching in the codes, or forgetting their codes. Equipment malfunctions are another major cause.
Alarm experts and police estimate that 25,000 to 30,000 businesses and homes on O'ahu have alarms, the majority being businesses.
Ron Jones, president of the Hawaii Burglar Alarm and Fire Alarm Association, which represents more than 30 alarm companies, said the association worked closely with police on the ordinance.
"We would prefer that there not be any ordinance," said Jones, president of Sonitrol of Hawaii Inc. and Patron Security Inc. "However, given the false-alarm problem that impedes the Honolulu Police Department in performing their public safety function, we are going to give this ordinance a try."
Correction: All burglar alarms installed on O'ahu after April 27 must be registered with the city at the time of installation. Homeowners and businesses that already have burglar alarms have until Aug. 25 to complete registration. The police department said most alarm companies will be sending forms to users. There is a $100 fine for failure to register burglar alarms. In addition, there will be a $50 service charge assessed for each false alarm police respond to after the first three per year. A previous version of this story contained incorrect information.
