12/02/2017
Dear Neighbors,
I live on Ketchams Road and I was woken up twice on two consecutive nights this week by a burglar alarm blaring loudly some six houses up the block. The first incident happened on Thursday morning at 6 am. The alarm went off for twenty minutes, then it shut down for ten minutes and then started up again. The noise kept up incessantly waking up everyone in my household. At first I thought it was from the house almost across the street from my house. I called the Second Precinct and the police sent down two cars to check that it was not a real burglary. The police found no evidence of a break in.
The alarmed stopped temporarily. I went off to work but my brother who was home most of the day reported the alarm was going on and off intermittently all day. I got home from work just before 6 pm. Shortly, after I got home from work the alarm went off again. This time I walked outside and traced the noise to its source to a home six blocks up the block from me. I knocked on the door of the home, no one home. I went next door, no one home. Across the street, no one home. I finally, walked over to the neighbor’s house on the other side of the house blaring an alarm. I knocked on the door and the man suspiciously wanted to know what I wanted. I told him about his neighbor’s alarm. Unbelievably, he seemed oblivious to the alarm even though he lived right next door. That alarm was loud enough to wake the dead!
Nevertheless, the man came out with me and he walked over to his neighbor’s house and I showed him where the alarm was sounding. The man softened up and said his neighbor’s weren’t home and wouldn’t be back home for another three days. He said he would contact the neighbor’s across the street who had the key to the house and could turn off the alarm. The alarm went off again at 4 am on Friday morning. I called the police again this time giving them the correct address. By the time the police reached the house the alarm had shut off after blaring for another twenty minutes. The police told me they would notify the alarm company to correct the alarm. All I can say it has been quiet for the past 24 hours so hopefully the situation has been corrected.
Nevertheless, when the people who live in that house arrive home tomorrow I plan to go over and talk to them.
Many people in this community have security systems to protect their home. Though we live in a safe neighborhood and burglaries are a rare occurrence, nonetheless everyone has the right to protect their home. However, with that right you have the responsibility to have a functioning security system that will not intrude on your neighbors peace and quiet. Also, when you call in a false alarm your alarm takes away police resources from preventing a real crime or responding to a health emergency that could result in someone’s death.
If you have an older security system that doesn’t have a kill switch to shut off the alarm after several minutes you should upgrade or replace your system. Your alarm system must be registered with Nassau County. Leave a key with a responsible neighbor who is going to be home in the event your alarm were to go off by mistake.
Your alarm must be registered and should connect to a central station that is monitored by the police in the event it goes off. Failure to have a permit or repeated incidence of your security system causing an alarm could result in a fine and putting your house in No Response mode from the police if your alarm were to go off. Also, having an unregistered alarm is a violation of the Town Of Oyster Bay Code Enforcement which can result in further fines imposed by the Town.
Please take note if you own a security system or pass this along to your neighbor if they own a security system.
Let me underscore, I’m not against security systems, they can be a useful deterrent to preventing burglary but they must have a permit, have a kill switch after several minutes of operation and must be tied into a central monitoring system. Please leave a key with someone you trust if the alarm does mal function.
Your alarm must not intrude on your neighbor’s peace and quiet.
Anyway, if you don’t take my word please read this official communication from the Nassau County Police Department.
Your Neighbor,
Lanny Wexler
Nassau County Police Department Alarm Permit Section Communications Bureau https://www.pdcn.org/DocumentCenter/View/106
THOMAS C. KRUMPTER
ACTING COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
1490 Franklin Avenue
Mineola, New York 11501
(516) 573-7862
EDWARD P. MANGANO
COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Alarm Permit Section
Communications Bureau
The Nassau County Police are requested to respond to over 125,000 false alarms each year. Alarm legislation was adopted in 1991 because of concerns over police officer safety and to eliminate the misuse of police resources, which results in a cost of millions of dollars annually. Unfounded alarm calls reduce the police department’s effectiveness and undermines our ability to respond to more critical calls. Alarm legislation mandates alarm permits are required for all alarm systems. Any person operating an alarm system without a permit shall be subject to a penalty fee for each alarm activation. Continued use of a non-registered alarm system may result in location being placed in No Response Mode. This means if an alarm transmission is received, Nassau County Police personnel will not be assigned to respond unless independent information suggests that a police response is necessary. Permit holders are required to immediately notify their alarm companies of their permit number. Alarm companies must use this permit number when dispatching for an alarm. Dispatch without a permit number is a violation of the law and can result in further fines.
Application for permits and fees may
ONLY be filed by mail.
Checks or money orders
must be made payable to
:
The Nassau County Police Department.
Application fees are
Non-refundable.
New applications:Residence: $100Business: $ 200
Permit Renewals:
Residence: $10
Mail application to:
Nassau County
Public Safety Center
Communications Bureau /
Police Alarm Permits
1194 Prospect Avenue
Suite 114
Westbury, NY
11590
Permits are non-transferable. Permits are to be renewed every two (2) years from date of issuance. Renewal reminders will be mailed to permit holders prior to the expiration date.
However, the alarm user is responsible for renewal prior to expiration date regardless of renewal notice receipt. Section 8 - 40.8 of alarm legislation defines a false alarm as any alarm signal that elicits a response by police personnel and for which there is no evidence of criminal activity to justify a police response. The holder of a permit or the person in control of an alarm system shall be subject to suspension and/or revocation and/or will have location placed into No Police Response Mode if false alarms to that location exceed two (2) in a calendar year
If you have any questions, please call the Nassau County Police
Department Alarm Permit Section at
(516) 573-7862 or (516) 573-7298
and leave a message. Someone will call.
What do you think about the issue with false burglar alarms. Have you been kept up at night by a false alarm from your neighbor's burglar alarm system?
What did you do about it?
Please share your experiences here on the Birchwood Park Facebook Civic Association page.
Your Neighbor,
Lanny Wexler
