CAPE POLICE CAST OFF ALARM MONITORING

The Cape Girardeau Police Department is going out of the burglar alarm monitoring business at the end of June.

Since the department moved to its headquarters at 40 S. Sprigg in 1976, it has served as the monitoring headquarters for more than 200 private alarm systems throughout the city.

"Our first panel was one of about four made in the whole country; it didn't work out real well because it wasn't compatible with anything," said Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. "We updated it about seven or eight years later, with what was then a state-of-the-art panel.

"At that time, the city took bids for the panel, allowing the vendor who charged the least in monthly maintenance fees to install the panel in the basement of the department," he continued. "When the contract expired this year, we decided not to renew."

There are several reasons the police department opted to discontinue monitoring burglar and fire alarms, Boyd said.

"We are about to put in our new (Emergency) 911 console in the communications room, and there's simply going to be no place for the control grid for the alarm system," Boyd said. "The new equipment is going to take up more room than we've got as it is."

Cape Girardeau police are currently working on a project to install a new 911 system that will identify the location of the caller as the call is being made to the station. Among other things, it will give dispatchers more information to be able to send officers to the scene of a crime more quickly.

Currently, the police department has a call-back system that will return the call just lodged to the station. If the caller does not respond, dispatch must have the call traced, which could take up valuable time in an emergency situation.

"Answering false fire and burglar alarms also takes up too much time time which could be better spent answering other calls," he said. "It's taking away from our other duties."

Currently, when a burglar alarm is triggered, two police officers are dispatched to the scene to secure the building. The owner is contacted to open the building for officers to check the premises and then re-secure the locks.

"When a big storm hits town, dozens of those things go off at once," Boyd said. "But if we're busy working accidents or traffic, we can't spare the officers right then to go and check 100 different businesses and houses."

This change is another step in the growing trend of the Cape Girardeau police to get away from lower-priority, manpower-intensive services and re-focus their efforts on the prevention of crime within the city limits.

In January, police contracted for "lockout" services, for people who lock their keys in their car. Now when someone calls the police department complaining that they have locked their keys in their car, police will refer them to a private company on 24-hour call for the city.

The Jefferson City Police Department has also moved away from monitoring alarm services, Boyd said.

About two months ago, when the city had decided that it was not going to renew its contract with the firm operating out of the department, letters of notification were sent to customers.

"It's almost better this way," said Boyd. "Now these people can go out and shop for a monitoring company, compare prices and find what's best for them.

"Since we started in this business, monitoring companies have become highly specialized, competitive and are offering better quality service to their customers than we could," he said. "In many cases, the person could save money with another company."

A lot of residents and businesses throughout the city already contract with private firms, Boyd said.

"We monitor the alarms of a little more than 200 customers," Boyd said. "That is only a fraction of the total number of alarms in the city."

After July 1, private firms will monitor all alarm systems. When one goes off, the company headquarters will go through checking procedures and, if it is not a false alarm, will summon police to the scene.

"We will continue to answer all of the alarms that we are called upon to check," Boyd said. "But this will cut down on the number of false alarms we typically report to."

Private companies vary in hookup fees, monthly maintenance charges and the type of equipment necessary to communicate with the company's main computers.

"We're not going to leave anyone high and dry without police protection," he said. "But we'd really rather have private vendors monitor the systems and call us for help.

"It's really going to give people the best of both worlds," Boyd said. "The customers will have higher quality services and our dispatchers will have more available officers at their disposal to send on other calls."