Police Department Alarm Policy
Alarm Ordinance
The West Melbourne Alarm Ordinance deals with intrusion alarms and how the police department will respond to them. The West Melbourne Police Department, like most law enforcement agencies across the United States, has been responding to alarm calls since their existence. For a complete copy of our Alarm Ordinance, Article VI, Chapter 18 of the Code Of Ordinance, please visit www.Municode.com and click on “online library” and follow the steps.
Background
Studies have shown that historically over 99.5% of alarm calls are false alarms. This number has held for many years and continues even today. Police Chief Brian Lock said the enormous drain on police resources makes it difficult for the Police Department to achieve the proper balance between protecting life and property.
“We began looking at this problem in an effort to provide better service to the community”, said Chief Lock, “Sending officers to where there is no crime in an emergency setting does not enhance anyone’s safety. We are fully committed to providing the highest level of police service in order to preserve public safety.”
A Solution
In an effort to reduce false alarms, and continually improve the use of limited public resources, the Police Department developed this ordinance, which contained provisions, such as alarm permits, to make it easy for law enforcement to know who to contact at the scene of an alarm; a fine structure for false alarms; and imposing some operational issues on the alarm industry.
Alarm Permits
Alarm users may obtain an alarm permit from the Police Department after showing they have complied with the permit requirements and pay a fee of $25.00. A permit is good for 12 months and expires on September 30, following the date issuance.
For information about registration, fines, false alarms or any other questions regarding our Alarm Ordinance, please contact the Alarm Compliance Desk Officer Linda Wilson at 321-723-9673, extension 755. Click one of the below for further information.
False Alarm Brochure
Alarm Registration Form
NOTE: Under Florida Law, email addresses are public records. If you do not want you email address released to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to the police department. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.
