The police in Seattle, Washington, announced that they will not respond to security alarms unless “supporting evidence” is attached to the report.
“We will no longer respond to calls from alarm companies based only on sensor or motion activations,” interim police chief Sue Rahr stated in a letter to alarm companies. “With depleted resources, we cannot prioritize a patrol response when there is a very low probability that criminal activity is taking place.”
Seattle police receive about 13,000 residential and commercial burglary alarm calls from monitoring companies annually.
According to the police, many of these calls stem from an “unintended sensor trip by a homeowner or business employee. Many others are the result of old or failing equipment.”
Business owners have expressed concern with the police’s decision. Washington Alarm CEO Shannon Woodman told Fox News Digital, “Our biggest fear is that crime is going to go up, and we do not want crime to go up.”
“We can’t solve false alarm problems by taking police response away,” she said.
The Seattle Police Department previously announced they would be recruiting immigrants from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amid an officer shortage.
Under Senate Bill 6157, DACA recipients may apply for civil service jobs across the state.