City police will no longer respond to all burglar alarms

Pittsburgh police officers will no longer respond to every burglar alarm that sounds citywide, a move public safety officials believe will increase officers’ productivity and cut costs.

“[It’s] time that could be spent bolstering community engagement efforts, increasing training time, expanding proactive patrols, and prioritizing officer wellness initiatives,” Police Chief Larry Scirotto said on Thursday.

Beginning April 15, officers will only respond to alarms meeting specific criteria, including human -activated hold-up alarms and panic alarms, medical alert alarms, “priority locations” such as government buildings, critical infrastructure, or any location that has the potential to become a larger threat to public safety.

Before the change, officers responded to all alarms — even if the alarm company could not reach the property owner or keyholder to verify the alarm.

“This result[ed] in thousands of police staff hours each year for officers dispatched to alarms; the overwhelming majority of which are false,” Public Safety spokesperson Cara Cruz said.

An audit from the bureau’s crime analysis unit found that of the 9,097 calls for service for burglar alarms last year, only 39 — less than half of a percent — generated police reports.

Ms. Cruz said just six of the 39 incidents involved a verified non-false alarm, a break-in, and an actor near the incident. The majority of those incidents were vandalism or objects being thrown through windows.

“These 9,097 calls resulted in 4,166 police staff hours, or 174 days, with an average of 13.5 minutes per unit spent on burglar alarm responses,” Chief Scirotto said, calling the previous model “not a cost-effective or productive use of officers’ time.”

Now, Allegheny County dispatch will assign call priority based on whether the burglar alarm is verified, and the bureau will also be cracking down on false alarms.

Ms. Cruz said that after two false burglar alarms, a property owner will be fined for any additional alarms. Officers can disregard a call to service if the caller has generated five documented false alarms in one year.

Officers responded to nearly 1,500 repeat addresses, which made up more than 75% of all burglar alarm calls in 2021 — including one residence that yielded 81 responses, Ms. Cruz said.

“[This] reinforces the need to hold permit holders financially responsible for police response to multiple false alarms,” she said.

Since the start of the year, Chief Scirotto has implemented multiple operational changes, including officers working 10-hour shifts four days a week and fewer officers on patrol between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m.

Like those previous changes, he points to data as the main factor in his decision-making process.

“Several cities across the U.S. have adopted this model, which has resulted in cost savings for residents without sacrificing service quality or public safety,” he said.

Pittsburgh residents can register their security system on the city’s website.