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A false alarm is caused by human error or equipment problems in your burglar alarm system. These problems trigger an alarm requiring a police response even though no crime has been committed or even attempted.

Burglar alarms were originally designed to protect lives and property. Properly installed, used, and maintained, alarms are a real asset. However, when misused, they become a liability.

Police departments as well as security monitoring companies must spend a significant amount of time and money reacting to false alarms. False alarms can delay police officers from responding to real emergencies, thus endangering the whole community. System users also experience the inconvenience of false alarms and the assessment of fines. Further, a system that continually has false alarms can be rendered useless as neighbours may ignore your alarm when it goes off for a valid reason. Finally, one of my biggest concerns about false alarms is that the user becomes reluctant to arm the system, exposing their home or business to undetected theft or damage.

Preventing false alarms can be as simple as making sure that all doors and windows are locked before arming your premises. Here are some other easy tips for preventing false alarms:

If you have pets, be sure they are in an area not covered by motion sensors when the system is armed.

Stop all drafts that may move plants or curtains, both of which may cause an alarm to sound.

Insist that the alarm keypad be easily accessible from the entry door and that the arming delay is set for a reasonable period.

Ensure that everyone with a key to your home or business knows how to manually operate the system and knows what to do if it is accidentally set off. These authorized people should also know the 24-hour service number and pass code for the monitoring company.

Remember that user error is the single largest cause of false alarms, so have your user's manual accessible to all users.

Make sure that you replace the backup battery every three to five years.

Insist that your system have a simple method for testing that will not result in a false dispatch and then perform a monthly test.

Make sure that your burglar alarm system has a cancel code that can be entered after a false alarm has sounded.

Remember, the most common reasons for false alarms are: poor-quality equipment, equipment used in the wrong application, improperly-installed equipment, poorly-trained users, and a lack of dispatch verification from the monitoring station.