Los Gatos will start charging residents for their home alarm systems next year — and could even issue fines for too many false alarms.
The town will require homeowners with security alarms to pay for $95 annual permits, in an effort to crack down on false alarms and conserve Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department resources. Police data shows officers responded to more than 910 false alarms last fiscal year out of 1,375 alarm activations, about 40% of which came from homes. The Town Council unanimously approved the decision earlier this month, with the policy taking effect in January.
The town can fine property owners $175 for two or more false alarms within six months in a calendar year, under the new policy. Police can give a home a “do not respond” designation if a property owner has more than five false alarms in a calendar year. Residents can appeal the decision to have the status removed.
Property owners will also be fined $190 if police respond to a home alarm and they don’t have a permit. The fees collected from the policy will go toward town services.
Councilmember Rob Rennie supports the policy because he said false alarms waste time the small police department could be using on actual emergencies. Each false alarm results in a 30-minute or more response from two officers, according to police data.
Rennie said most alarm companies will call the homeowner before calling police, giving them the chance to deactivate it. He added the policy will help the town save some money ahead of fiscal uncertainty.
“A false alarm is obviously not important if it’s not real,” Rennie told San José Spotlight. “I hope that it allows us to… redeploy police resources to things that are more important.”
The alarm policy previously only applied to businesses, but a Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department spokesperson said the number of false alarms they received from homes made the change necessary.
“The police department and town strive for a reduction in false alarms, standardization of cost recovery and compliance, accurate record and system maintenance and enhanced prioritization of police responses,” the spokesperson told San José Spotlight.
The policy is not a new concept for Santa Clara County. Neighboring Campbell fines residents who have more than three false alarms in a calendar year. After 10 false alarms, the city’s police department can decide to stop responding when the alarm is triggered.
Los Gatos residents have mixed feelings about the policy.
Carin Yamamoto, who’s lived in town for 27 years, has an alarm system in her home and said it was extremely sensitive when she first installed it. She said putting residents on a no-response list doesn’t make the community safer.
“Personally, I just think it’s just going to make Los Gatos more of a target, because if a thief knows that you’ve been put on that list, they’re going to target your house,” Yamamoto told San José Spotlight.
But Jonathan Knowles, resident and board president of the nonprofit Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Foundation, said the town’s policy is generous. He has a home alarm system and said it’s a waste of tax dollars every time the police respond to a false alarm.
“We all have to be involved in this, because there are people who don’t have home alarm systems. We don’t want to take away (resources) from them (with false alarms),” Knowles told San José Spotlight. “We want this to be equitable.”
Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X.
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