From Left: Debbie Lopez and Lori Schaum

False Alarm Calls present a serious threat to the effectiveness of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and to the safety of our citizens. These calls are costly and dangerous since they divert Deputies from proactive crime prevention efforts. False Alarm Calls also delay response time to other calls which may be a true emergency.

With an estimated 25 percent annual increase in alarm systems nationwide, Law Enforcement agencies are overwhelmed with False Alarm calls. This is resulting in stricter ordinances, severe fines and/or no response policies. The Pinal County False Alarm Ordinance will regulate the amount of False Alarm calls the Sheriff’s Office receives, by setting stringent guidelines for alarm users on how to properly operate and utilize their alarm systems. This will assist the Sheriff’s Office by reducing unnecessary responses and enhancing the effectiveness of an alarm system.

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors adopted the Alarm System Ordinance to regulate the amount of False Alarms. The ordinance was implemented January 1, 2003. All alarm users are required to obtain an Alarm Permit, which costs $10. These Permits are renewed annually for $10.00. Payable by Check or Money Order only. Permit holders are allowed three free False Alarm Calls and/or one free False Panic Alarm Call in each permit year, after which a $71.00 penalty fee is assessed.

In 2007 over 2400 New Permits were issued and over 3200 Permits were renewed. Our Dispatch Center received over 6,000 Alarm calls - of these; only 20 calls necessitated an Incident Report! That’s approximately one Alarm Call every 68 minutes. Through New Permits, Permit Renewals and Cost Recovery fees the Alarm Unit collected over $124,000.00 during 2007.

A copy of the Ordinance, Permit Application and Instructions, Renewal Form and general information are all available in our downloads section.

The Alarm Unit is located in the main Administrative Building of the Sheriff Office, located at 971 N Jason Lopez Circle, Bldg C, Florence; and is staffed Monday through Friday, 8am -5pm. If you have any questions or comments regarding the False Alarm Program, please contact Alarm Coordinator, Lori Schaum at 520-866-5173 or 800-420 8689- select option 9, ext-5173.

REMEMBER –YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION!

To send an email to the Alarm Unit, click here