Alarm Management Program

Our revised Alarm Management Program took effect January 1, 2008 and no longer requires residents/business owners to register their premises for alarm response, nor pay re-instatement fees. Premises will no longer be subject to a suspension from the program, which will allow our officers to continue to provide outstanding protection and service. All cost recovery fees will be charged directly to the Central Monitoring Stations representing the premise owners.

Durham Regional Police will charge the Central Monitoring Station $175 for all monitored alarms requesting a police dispatch, which are found to be false, and $100 for alarms that are cancelled while officers are en route. If the alarm, is in fact an indication of criminal activity (e.g. Break & Enter, Property Damage etc.), no remittance from the Central Monitoring Station will be required.

The amended 2008 Alarms Management Policy requires that all alarm calls be verified prior to a request for police response. A verified alarm call will be dispatched to the first available police unit. A non-verified alarm call will be processed at a lower level, which could result in a significant delay before a dispatch is made.

An alarm system can be a valuable tool in deterring crime and providing peace of mind. However, as the owner of a security system you have a responsibility to use the system properly. A false alarm wastes valuable time and money, both yours and your local police department’s.

Prevention Checklist

False alarms are costly and dangerous because they divert police officers from calls that may be true emergencies. There are some simple measures that can be taken to reduce false alarms.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Alarms Management Unit is located at 605 Rossland Rd E,Whitby,Ontario. Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. We are closed on weekends and Statutory Holidays. You can contact us by phone 905-579-1520 ext. 4351, or by email alarms@drps.ca

All monies collected are used to offset the costs of Police response to alarms within the Durham Regional Police Budget, as approved by the Police Services Board and Regional Council.

The Durham Regional Police Service receives a request for dispatch from your monitoring station. Our dispatch computers record the time the call was received, dispatched to the officers, the time they arrived and the time that they cleared from the premise. Your monitoring station can verify a dispatch to police.

If you return home or to your business and discover that in fact the premise was broken into you must immediately contact Durham Regional Police Communications. The call taker will create a call for service and either have an officer attend or have an officer contact you by phone (you will be advised at the time of your call.) Once the Break and Enter report has been taken, you must contact your Central Monitoring Station. On your behalf, they will submit a Disposition Appeal Request to the Alarm Management Unit.

Your Central Monitoring Station will be required to attempt to verify your alarm prior to requesting a police dispatch. We have offered them several options;

  • The Central Monitoring Station has established audio communication with the premise and has confirmed the need for emergency assistance; or
  • The premise owner or a party present at the premise has activated the key pad panic authorization; or
  • The Central Monitoring Station has established video contact with the premise and has observed a security breach at the premise; or
  • The Central Monitoring Station has established contact with the premise owner and has confirmed unauthorized activation of the premise alarm; or has made at least two (2) attempts, using two (2) separate telephone numbers to contact the premise owner or authorized key holder; or
  • The Central Monitoring Station has confirmed the presence of cross zone activation at the premise; or
  • The Central Monitoring Station has confirmed that there is eye witness verification in support of the alarm.

Central Monitoring Stations must sign and adhere to the policies and provisions set out in a service agreement.

Durham Regional Police will not recommend any specific Alarm Company. We will advise however to obtain three quotes from three different types of services, such as a small, medium and larger size company. This can usually be determined by the size of their yellow page ad. Once you have met with each of the three you will have a better understanding of what each has to offer and something to compare one to another.

We do require all Central Monitoring Stations to have on file, a Service Agreement with our Police Service. Requirements for the Service Agreement include membership in CANASA (Canadian Security Association) and Certification with the ULC (Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada). Both have useful web sites that may include information helpful to you in choosing your monitoring system.
www.canasa.org
www.ulc.ca

Requests for police dispatch in response to alarm activations that come directly from the premise owner, or an agent acting on behalf of the owner, will be invoiced to the premise owner at the same cost recovery rate. Failure to remit payment will result in a collections initiative.

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