New Orleans Cracking Down on False Alarms

New Orleans officials are getting set to impose penalties for owners of properties where repeated false security alarms waste police time.

A city news release says an ordinance taking effect May 1 will result in a warning to a property owner after one false alarm, and a $75 fine after the second.

The third offense fine is $150. The fourth offense brings another $150 fine plus a suspension of responses to false alarms at the property until the problem is fixed.

Penalties won’t apply when owners notify the department about an accidental alarm before police arrive. And, the policy won’t apply to 9-1-1 calls, panic alarms or fire alarms.

The city said police were sent to answer more than 40,000 false alarms last year and 98 percent were false alarms.