Letter Index

Cowlitz County
Sheriff's Office
- Continued -

depend on security and emergency alarm systems, John Wurner, Washington State coordinator for the false alarm reduction project, contacted this office and invited us to a meeting concerning the program and its targeted results. We attended, received the model alarm code, the video, and the computer program and returned to our office to address the issue head on.

Working with John and the representatives of the alarm industry who had been at that meeting, we decided to reinstate our alarm response program. Because of the interest of the alarm industry, the hard work of John, and the wake-up call that my actions brought to our county, we have seen significant success in reducing the number of false alarms.

We have submitted our new alarm ordinance to our county prosecutor and will be submitting the ordinance to the Board of County Commissioners sometime in 1999. In addition, the five cities and towns in this county have voiced an interest in this new alarm ordinance and may well become involved in applying it within their boundaries.

The important thing about this process is that it brought the alarm industry together with the law enforcement community to deal with a mutual problem, one that affects that livelihood of the alarm industry and the ability of local law enforcement agency to deal with alarm responses. It greatly improves the reliability of alarms received and has reduced the overall number of alarm dispatches we respond to.

This kind of cooperation and mutual interest in the use and maintenance of alarm systems, both residential and business has been a long time coming. The resulting benefits have been impressive, but there is still much more to do. We have taken the preliminary steps, but we need to continue the process.

Thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to voice my support for the current system and to report our success. In the end, it means greater and better service to the citizens who depend on us for assistance.

Respectfully yours,

BRIAN D. PEDERSEN
Sheriff

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