Municipal Hall

August 27, 2007 / 12:00 AM

Maple Ridge, BC: The District of Maple Ridge has recorded a dramatic decrease in the number of false alarms half way through this year compared to 2006. Year-to-date there has been a 66% drop in the number of false alarms reported representing a significant savings in police time. At the end of July this year, the RCMP had responded to 230 false alarms compared to 677 this time last year.

"Council is extremely pleased with the latest statistics presented by the RCMP with reference to false alarms in the community," said Mayor Robson. "It wasn't long ago that a number of groups expressed concern about Council introducing a new bylaw designed to cut down the number of false alarms, some even predicting that break and enters would go up as a result of this, but now we can see that the right decision was made."

Inspector Wakely, Officer in Charge of the Ridge-Meadows detachment told Council at a recent meeting that police resources in the past were not being used in an effective way responding to such a high number of false alarms. "The success we are seeing today in this area is a direct result of Councils in both Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows making a commitment to see positive change regarding this issue even in the face of strong criticism from some quarters," said Inspector Wakely. "The alarm industry and property owners took more responsibility and as a result we have all benefited."

Last September the District of Maple Ridge introduced a new Security Alarm Bylaw that outlined the roles and responsibilities of the property owner, alarm companies and enforcement services. Included is a schedule of fees that can be levied against a property owner for false alarms that occur. In addition, it points out that property owners can apply for a "No Alarm Status" if they submit evidence that the cause of the false alarm has been fixed.