Policy Text
OFFICE OF CHIEF OF POLICE
OAKLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM
TO: All Personnel DATE: 1 Sep 10
SUBJECT: Revision of Department al General Order Z-3, ALARM
SYSTEMS (Rev.22 Mar 00)
The purpose of this order is to set fo rth Department policy and procedures
regarding the False Alarm Reduction Pr ogram to abate false and misused
alarms. The Department’s primary con cerns, when responding to alarms, are
public safety, officer safety, and the apprehension of criminals.
The Evaluation Coordinator for this or der shall be the Fiscal Services
Division Manager, who, without further notice, shall forward the required report to the Chief of Police on or by 1 Mar 11.
The Evaluation Coordinator shall receive , review and document the acceptance
or rejection of all comments and/or recommendations received prior to
submitting his/her six-mont h evaluation report.
The Evaluation Coordinator shall forwar d a copy of the six-month evaluation
report, along with the comments/recomme ndations received, to the Office of
Inspector General to be maintained in the appropriate Departmental General
Order archive folder. Personnel shall acknowledge re ceipt, review, and unders tanding of this directive
in accordance with the provisions of DGO A-1, DEPARTMENTAL
PUBLICATIONS. By order of Anthony W. Batts Chief of Police Date Signed: ____ ____________
DEPARTMENTAL
GENERAL ORDER Z-3 Index as: Alarm Systems Effective Date:
1 Sep 10
Evaluation Coordinator:
Fiscal Services Division Manager
Evaluation Due Date:
1 Mar 11
Automatic Revision Cycle:
3 Years
Page 1 of 5
ALARM SYSTEMS
The purpose of this order is to set forth Department policy and pro cedures regarding the
False Alarm Reduction Program to abate fals e and misused alarms . The Department’s
primary concerns, when respondi ng to alarms, are public safe ty, officer safety, and the
apprehension of criminals.
I. TERMINOLOGY
A. Alarm User
Any person, firm, partnership, corpora tion, or other entity who (which) uses
an alarm system at a particular alarm site.
B. False Alarm
An alarm signal is “false” when it is activated by accident, malfunction or
negligence when no cr ime has occurred.
C. Misused Alarm
An alarm is “misused” wh en the owner or respons ible person deliberately
activates the signal for some purpose ot her than the intended use, such as
activating a robbery alarm to summon assistance in dea ling with a shoplifter.
D. Subscriber An alarm user who is a customer of an alarm business.
DEPARTMENTAL GENERAL ORDER Z-3 Effective Date:
1 Sep 10 OAKLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
II. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
A. The Department has established the False Alarm Reduction Unit (FARU)
aligned under the Fiscal Services Divi sion supervised by a civilian coordinator
(False Alarm Reduction Unit Coordinator) designated by the Chief of Police.
B. The Department contracts with an alar m management company to assist the
FARU Coordinator with the administration and management of the False Alarm Reduction Program.
II. RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Field Officers
1. Officers investigating an audible or silent alarm shall complete the
appropriate report to document th e incident and any corrective
measures taken (e.g., Crime Report, Assignment Report, or Insecure
Premise Report).
2. Security Check & Walk-Through
a. Officers shall conduct a security check of the premise/facility
when an alarm has occurred to as certain if the premise/facility
is secure; and/or
b. Upon subscriber request, offi cers shall conduct a walk-through
of the premise/facility wher e an alarm has occurred.
3. Disposition Procedures
a. Upon clearing an alarm call assi gnment, officers shall assign a
disposition code to the call. Offi cers have discretion when using
the false alarm disposition codes. If a situation occu rs that does
not fit within the criteria listed, officers shall provide a brief
description in the “Comment” fi eld in the Computer Assisted
Dispatching (CAD) System. NOTE : The alarm user is bill ed based on the responding
officer’s disposition.
Page 2 of 5
DEPARTMENTAL GENERAL ORDER Z-3 Effective Date:
1 Sep 10 OAKLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
b. In the event an officer subse quently determines a crime has
occurred at an alarm location wh ich was earlier designated as a
FALSE alarm, he/she shall en sure the disposition code is
corrected.
c. Disposition Codes shall be assigned as follows:
CODE DEFINITION DESCRIPTION
ALC Canceled Disposition code used by dispatchers when an alarm
activation is verified false by the alarm company prior to
the dispatch of officers. Also applies when the officer is not dispatched to activations caused by power outages.
ALG General False
Alarm* Alarm activation of general alarm caused by alarm system failure, malfunction, negligence, accident or misuse.
ALP Panic False
Alarm* Alarm activation of panic alarm caused by alarm system failure, malfunction, negligence, accident or misuse.
ALR Robbery False
Alarm* Alarm activation of robbery alarm caused by alarm system failure, malfunction, negligence, accident or misuse.
ALV Valid Alarm Alarm activation where the primary responding officer
finds evidence that a crime occurred.
ALW Alarm Caused by
Weather Alarm activation caused by severe weather or acts of nature (ex