Alachua County Sheriff's Office

Alarm Company Procedures

In an effort to reduce false alarms, alarm companies are required, by law, to take the following proactive measures:

1. Alarm Monitoring companies must attempt to verify every burglar alarm signal before requesting emergency dispatch. This means when you activate your alarm and your monitoring company gets the signal, they will try to call inside to cancel the alarm. If this is done, law enforcement will not be called. Duress, robbery, hold-up and expecailly fire alarms are exempt from verification prior to emergency dispatch requirements. These types of dispatches CANNOT BE CANCELLED.
2. If it is determined that an alarm signal is false, the alarm monitoring company must immediately attempt to cancel the emergency dispatch. False alarm response fees will be not charged for alarm calls cancelled prior to the arrival of emergency responders. This means your monitoring company must call the Combined Communications Center for the cancellation. The cancellation must come from your monitoring company.
3. A new alarm system installed in your home or business must possess an Installation Certification, certifying that:
   • the system meets or exceeds installation standard all persons responsible for the operation of the system have been fully trained on THE proper use; and
   • the alarm user has been informed of the ordinances requirements