Police Report $10,000-Plus Owed by Residents and Businesses Following False Alarms

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The town is owed more than $10,000 from residents and businesses where police responded in the fiscal year just ended to what turned out to be false alarms at homes and commercial properties in New Canaan, documents show.

About three-quarters of the $10,700 total is past due and more than half is more than 90 days late, according to a “False Alarm Aging” report discussed at the July 15 Police Commission meeting and obtained by NewCanaanite.com.

Businesses with past-due accounts that exceed $100 include Le Pan Quotidien ($1,000), Ralph Lauren ($300), Wells Fargo Bank ($300) and Bank of America ($200), according to the report.

“They should be embarrassed by the fact that they want us to respond to their alarms, but when we do and it’s false, they’re not willing to pay for our wasted time,” Police Commission Chair Stuart Sawabini said during the meeting, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department.

The figures do not include monies owed to the town through the Fire Department for responding to what had turned out to be false alarms.

Under section 4A-12 of the Town Code and as required by state law, municipal officials must mail a written warning to alarm users following a false alarm about fines associated with emergency response to such calls ($100 for Police or EMS and $200 for a Fire Department response).

Multi-false alarm users may request a public hearing to address fines, under the Town Code.

The commission at its meeting determined to solicit the opinion of the town’s CFO on how best to proceed with the past-due accounts.

Police in fiscal year 2015 received a total of $26,800 after responding to false alarms, according to the report.

The grand total of $10,700 now owed breaks down as follows:

  • $2,900—current (not past due)
  • $1,400—30 days past due
  • $1,000—60 days past due
  • $5,400—90-plus days past due

Most of the what is past due is owed residents rather than businesses. Among the largest accounts, $1,100 is past due and owed by a Parade Hill Lane resident, $400 is past due and owed by an Oenoke Lane resident and $400 is past due and owed by a Smith Ridge Road resident, the report shows.

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