What is Verified Response and Why Should We Enact It?
An ordinance, code or law that requires alarm companies to first verify through an eyewitness (security or private party responder), monitored conclusive audio or video that a burglary has occurred or is occurring before police are dispatched to the location of the alarm. This is where a lot of people stop and take issue with the concept of a verified response ordinance, because it takes the police out of the business of responding to their alarms. Most agencies approach to this subject matter has been pretty clear cut in that respect – according to the City of Burien’s verified response ordinance, “the Burien Police Department annually responds to approximately 1,300 alarms of which approximately 99 percent are false” and “responses to false alarms have diverted the annual equivalent of approximately nine percent of the directed calls for service for the City of Burien, and” “responses to false alarms thereby may endanger the public by preventing, diverting, or delaying police officer
