New technology could reduce number of false alarms in Sudbury
A recent report released by Greater Sudbury Police said 93 per cent of security calls they respond to are false alarms.
While police are looking for solutions, CTV News spoke with local security agencies to find out how new technology is reducing those numbers to better allocate police resources.
Theft, break and enters and other criminal activity occurs all the time, but in 2021 the local police spent more than 1,100 hours investigating what turned out to be false alarms.
However, security companies say technology has changed so much over the last few years that there should be far fewer of those calls.
“In the newer systems that are out there, even the motion detectors have a video component built in so you can turn around and you can actually verify right there whether it is somebody who has actually entered or just the cat knocking something off the shelf,” said Mike Pagnutti, president of Northern Security.
Although the new technology is promising when it comes to call reduction, Pagnutti said he understands the frustration of police responding to so many false alarms.
“It is very time consuming for the officers to be coming out if it a false alarm,” he said.
“(That’s) where having them verified is kind of good for everybody. It gives them the opportunity to check and make sure and it saves a lot of the resources.”
In 2001, police started charging companies a fee when they responded to false alarms. But it hasn’t made much of a difference, said Staff Sgt. Sandy Dicaire.
“The imposition of fees did cause some deterrence and provided some cost recovery, however, once again, there was very little change in the number of false alarms,” Dicaire said.
To deal with the issue, police will only respond to security alarms when certain benchmarks are met.
“Once alarms have been verified by either audio, video, eye witnesses on scene or at least two different sensors,” she said.
“This is the method we’re now going to be following.”
Dicaire said the hope is that the new policy combined with the new technology will improve the situation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
NEW 'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Canadian couple among tourists on sinking sailing boat tour abroad
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Accused of burglary at stepmother's home, U.S. senator says she wanted her father's ashes: charges
A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.