Do you remember the story of the boy who cried wolf? That boy called in all of the villagers multiple times to help run off a make believe wolf. He thought it was entertaining to watch everyone scramble. But, when he really did see a wolf, and really did need help, no one came.

In a recent study by The Herald of Washington it was found that over 90% of alarm activations that trigger a police response are falsely tripped. 90%!!Thankfully emergency responders will always come to your aid regardless of how many times you request them. But are you aware that roughly $2 billion in police resources are wasted every year because of false alarms? The majority of those charges are paid for by you and I through our tax dollars. And if that doesn’t hit home for you, consider the fact that many towns and cities charge a fee for falsely triggered alarms which can add up.

Alarms are put in place to help keep your home and business safe. Hopefully you never need the response teams that are sent when an alarm is activated, but those teams are specially trained to respond with speed and efficiency to help you in an emergency.

False alarms due to faulty equipment or acts of nature are rare. The single largest cause of false alarms is human error.

Common Causes of False Alarms:

• Failure to secure doors and windows once the alarm is turned on
• Incorrect keypad codes
• Failing to train authorized users
• Wandering pets
• Re-entering the home just after leaving without disarming (assuming the exit delay is long enough to compensate)
• Objects hanging by or around motion detectors
• Weak system batteries

Tips to Reduce False Alarms:

• Properly train all users (e.g., babysitters, relatives, children, visitors, etc.)
• Secure doors and windows before turning on alarm
• Inform the monitoring center of new pass codes and arming codes, and new or removed authorized users
• Service and maintain the system (including batteries) properly

If there is a question as to whether or not your system is working properly, contact Tasco Security or your security provider to check the status of the system and devices. For more information on how to protect your home or business contact Tasco Security for a free consultation.