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Fines coming to South Fulton residents, businesses for repeated false alarms

City leaders said the false alarms take officers away from actual emergencies.

SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — South Fulton is taking action to limit the number of false alarms law enforcement responds to in their city.

On Tuesday night, the city council approved an ordinance that will penalize home and business owners for or repeated false alarms. They said the false alarms take officers away from actual emergencies. 

Under the ordinance, there will be no fine for first and second false alarm offenses. However, after that, fines will range from $100 for the third, $150 for the fourth and $500 for more than seven false alarms.

"Police will have the option of not responding to calls at locations with 10 or more false alarms in a year," a news release reads.

According to city officials, Deputy Police Chief Connie Rogers said the average response time for police is between 16 and 17 minutes. They added the law also holds alarm owners responsible for the proper operation of alarm systems.

“This law will improve public safety and better allocate resources,” Rogers said. “We’ve hired approximately 70 police officers since September 2017. With the passing of the false alarm ordinance, those officers can spend more time responding to true emergencies.” 

Also to help improve efficiency, city officials approved a lease-purchase agreement providing radios for code enforcement and public safety officers. They said this will facilitate effective communication among the officers.

South Fulton isn't the only city with an ordinance on false alarms. Sandy Springs amended its ordinance over the summer in an attempt to cut down on the problem, requiring alarm companies to "submit audio or video evidence of an attempted or actual crime no more than 24 hours after the request for and dispatch of emergency services in response to an intrusion alarm." 

Read more about its "true verification" process here.

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