Starting next month, the Seattle Police Department will only respond to alarm calls if there is supporting evidence that a crime is being committed at the location.
The new policy was announced in a Sept. 13 letter from interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr to alarm monitoring companies, KOMO-TV reports. It goes into effect Oct. 1.
"With depleted resources, we cannot prioritize a patrol response when there is a very low probability that criminal activity is taking place," wrote Rahr.
In 2023, Seattle police received around 13,000 residential and commercial burglary alarm calls, roughly the number the department receives annually. Of those calls, only 4% were linked to confirmed crimes that led to a report or an arrest.
Rahr attributed most of the false alarms to inadvertently tripped sensors. She also blamed aging or malfunctioning equipment.
