Police in Des Moines received criticism when they convinced the city council to adopt an ordinance that limits their response to local burglar alarms.
But new data shows the changes have greatly reduced false dispatches and, as a result, police resources have been re-allocated to address other community issues.
The changes, supported by the Security Industry Alarm Coalition, began to take effect in mid-2005. At the end of the first full year of this new approach, false dispatches were down by 65 percent in 2006 (compared to 2004).
False dispatches dropped nearly 57 percent in 2005.
"We know change was hard on some people, but hopefully these numbers will prove it was worth it," said Master Police Officer Barry Sellers, who is alarm administrator for the city of Des Moines.
"False dispatches were such a problem before, they likely interfered with our response to real emergencies. Now we have more resources for proactive police work such as addressing traffic problems as well as prostitution and drug areas."
Ron Haner with the Security Industry Alarm Coalition said, "Des Moines has worked hard to maintain quality police protection and alarm response that its citizens have come to expect.
"The city's new ordinance was developed with the alarm industry's input and includes our recommended 'best practices' that have proven to be effective across the country."
Among the key changes implemented is a policy known as Enhanced Call Verification (ECV).
According to ECV, if a monitoring company cannot verify an alarm with one phone call, they must call a second number before dispatching officers to the alarm.
Des Moines also now requires property owners to register their alarm with the city as well as pay fines for more than two false dispatches within 12 months.
In addition, all new alarm control panels must conform to higher technology standards that reduce false activation. New alarm users must also become familiar with their equipment for seven days before requesting police dispatch.
Alarm companies must change their business practices as well. According to the ordinance, alarm providers must designate a company contact person to provide police with a quarterly report listing all customer contact information as well as registration numbers when requesting police dispatch.
