Honolulu police report 20 percent fewer false alarms this year, a trend officials attribute to a 2002 city ordinance that requires residents and businesses to register electronic security systems.

Honolulu Police Sgt. Yvonne Bolton said as of this week, more than 31,000 residents have paid the $15 fee to register their alarms. They pay $5 each year to renew.

Since the registration law went into effect, the number of false alarms has declined steadily, she said, dropping from more than 33,000 false alarms each year to an average that looks closer to 24,000 false alarms for this year.

"That was what we wanted," Bolton said.

Bolton said cutting the false alarms helps free police to respond to other calls and saves the city an estimated $675,000 yearly.

"They can dedicate their time to actual emergencies and to better serving the community," she said.

The law requires registration. If police respond to an alarm and find an owner has not registered, he or she can face a $100 fine.

Those who register and then have false alarms face a $50 fee on the fourth false alarm or must attend an alarm awareness class.

And Bolton said that requirement is easier on alarm owners than most Mainland statutes that start with a $50 fine and double and triple for subsequent false alarms.

She said the fee charged is designed to pay the cost of the registration although the money goes into the city's general fund. Combined with fines, fees and registration, the program has been bringing in more than $300,000 each year, she said.

RESPONSIBLE USE

Bolton said the system seems to have made alarm users responsible for using them correctly. Although people may complain about having to pay to register, they usually see the benefit, she said.

"You want the alarm systems to work correctly because you would only want patrol officers responding to real emergencies," she said.

It also prompts people to get their faulty alarms fixed, or to be more careful about not setting the alarm off by accident.

"Otherwise, you develop a cry-wolf syndrome where people get complacent, from the neighbors to the owners to the police," she said.

If the alarm goes off again and again, "it becomes a nuisance instead of a deterrent," she said.

Many times, she said, people realize what the problem is and will get it fixed before the fines hit. They'll tell police they have faulty equipment or it was set off by accident by house-cleaners, children or visitors.

PROBLEM AT SCHOOLS

Sonitrol of Hawai'i vice president Lisa Jones Hamada said the registration requirement hasn't been that big a deal for their alarm company or their clients. The company is an independent franchise with about 60 percent residential customers and 40 percent businesses.

For clients? "Some people grumble about it," Hamada said. "You get the occasional mutterings of 'I don't know why we have to do this.' "

For the company? "It added one more piece of paperwork that we have to process for our clients," she said.

Sonitrol also has been double-checking its records to make sure all its clients are registered. But Hamada also said they keep down the number of false alarms by using an audio system where they can listen in after an alarm to monitor what's going on.

"We can hear someone walking around," she said. "Sometimes, we can actually hear the burglary in progress."

Or they hear the homeowner or housesitter trying to figure out how to shut off the alarm, in which case they know it's a false alarm and police don't need to respond.

Overall, Hamada said the ordinance has been useful in having a consequence for frequent false alarms.

"It makes the clients more responsible and the alarm companies more accountable," she said.

Hamada notes that schools are exempt from the alarm ordinance and remain a big problem for false alarms.

"About 20 percent of our dispatches come from the schools alone. It shows what happens if you don't hold anybody accountable," she said.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.