% Dealer Participation – Dealer level of cooperation in taking corrective action for their targeted problem accounts as reflected by the number of checklists returned:

 H - 67% or more of all dealers notified took corrective action

 M - 34% to 66% of all dealers notified took corrective action

 L - Less than 33% of all dealers notified took corrective action

INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATING AGENCY PROFILES - Following each set of tables you will find a detailed profile for each listed city that includes general agency information, contact information, dispatch data summaries, calls for service and ordinance information.

Alarm Data Source – indicates where listed data was obtained:

 FAAP – False Alarm Analysis Program (alarm industry provided)

 CAD - Computer Aided Dispatch (agency in-house system)

 Computer (PC) - Other proprietary system

 Manual - No automation – manually tabulated

Calls For Service (CFS) – There is a natural tendency to compare CFS rates between cities of similar populations. The data listed did not logically follow the pattern a person would expect. We wanted to know why! So during this project our coordinator in Washington (retired Chief – John Wurner) looked at these differences between the seventeen cities he worked with and combined with his experience shares this observation:

Alarm dispatches are a part of an agency’s total (patrol) dispatches, which are a part of total CFS. CFS differs from dispatches in that departments include observations and self-initiated activity by officers into the total CFS, therefore the numbers for CFS are much higher than dispatches alone. Some departments even include warrant service and citations into this statistic, but most do not. Some departments tend to equate their dispatches as 100% of their service, therefore 100% of their patrol budgets. This is not ever the case, because up to one-half of officers time can be spent on non-dispatched activities such as observation, arrests, etc.

Therefore, when trying to determine resource loss and/or budget impact, a department that sees 10% of its total dispatches as being alarm related is incorrect to assume 10% of the patrol time/budget is spent on alarm dispatches. The actual number could be closer to 5% or half the patrol division’s total available manpower or cost.