CATOOSA, Okla. — Residents in Catoosa will soon require a permit for police to respond to alarm calls, starting January 1.
This initiative by the city is aimed at reducing the frequency of false alarms.
"With the false ones, you're just taking time away from people who are actually in need," said Captain Jennifer Swarer, Public Information Officer for Catoosa Police Department.
Swarer noted that in the past two years, more than 95 percent of alarm calls were false, and many came from the same homes and businesses.
The city will mandate yearly permits, costing $35 for residences and $75 for businesses. The funds are planned to be allocated to the dispatch department at Catoosa's new Public Safety Complex.
Capt. Swarer believes dealing with fewer false alarms will empower officers to respond to true emergencies faster. "Once they've paid their permit fine amount, they know that their alarm will be responded to in a timely manner regardless of whether it ends up being a false alarm or an actual alarm," she said.
While the Catoosa Police point out that similar permits are already in effect in other cities, the new policy is drawing mixed reactions from the community.
Dawn Gerrish, a Catoosa resident, said she will not be filling out the permit. "No, absolutely not. So then the question would be, if I didn't purchase it, does that mean that they're not going to respond?"
Clarifying the policy, Capt. Swarer stated that the police will not respond to an alarm alone without a permit. However, it will respond to a phone call.
"If they've got video and they can actually see somebody going in, they can call us and we will respond. If a neighbor calls in and says, hey, this is occurring at my neighbor's house, we're going to respond. We just aren't going to respond to just the alarm going off when dispatch calls us, unless there's an actual eyewitness seeing something go on at the same time."
The permits can be filled at City Hall, Catoosa Police Department, or on the city's website.
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