As of July 1st Residential and Business Alarms Require Permit and Registration with Police
LETHBRIDGE: A spike in the number of police calls to false alarms has prompted Lethbridge Police to uphold a previously un-enforced bylaw. Bylaw 5078 requires all homeowners and businesses with alarms to obtain a permit and register the alarm with the police service.
An increase in false alarms is impacting police resources and taking officer response time away from legitimate calls.
Over the five years between 2010 and 2014, police responded to an average of more than 1400 false alarms per year. Only about 35 alarms turn out to be genuine each year.
There is no cost to obtain an alarm permit and owners have until July 1 to register. After that time, the bylaw will be enforced.