Police recovering costs of false alarms
Posted at: 01/09/2013 6:14 PM
By: Danielle Todesco, KOB Eyewitness News 4
Homeowners and business owners around Albuquerque may think they are protecting themselves by setting an alarm. But Albuquerque Police are responding to too many false alarms and they are sending to the bill to the property owners.
There is a business in Albuquerque that has been having problems with their alarm system for more than a year now and police have to respond every time. Now the owners of T&Y Nails, Van Bui and her husband, are stuck with a hefty bill.
"I have to go to back to court again on the 20th," Bui said.
Bui can't count how many times her alarm has gone off. But she now has $700 dollars in fines. She said between keeping up her business and taking care of her child, she doesn't have time to go back and forth to court. But she also can't get rid of the alarm.
"If I have an alarm, but alarm goes off like this, I have to pay a lot of fines," Bui said. "But if I don't have an alarm, someone can break into my business."
After the third false alarm that police respond to, it starts to cost you. It is $150 dollars each time until you get to the 10th time. Then, the fine goes up to $500 dollars.
Officer Robert Gibbs with Albuquerque Police said they have to recover the cost of responding to false alarms. But he said usually the homeowners are the ones that fix the problem quickly.
"Most of the cases we have regarding an excessive false alarm fee are businesses," Officer Gibbs said.
If you show a receipt from the alarm company that the alarm was faulty and has been repaired, the False Alarm Reduction Unit should clear all the charges.
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