A false-alarm monitoring system was on hold, but some got registration notices anyway

Although a program aimed at curbing false burglary alarms may still be desired in Warner Robins, the current vendor may be on the way out.

Police have asked the city attorney to take a look at the contract with Maryland-based Public Safety Corp. after residents and businesses recently received calls, letters or emails about annual registration.

That didn’t go over too well with police, considering implementation of the company’s CryWolf false-alarm monitoring system had been put on hold indefinitely due to public confusion and other issues.

One of those other issues was invasive questions asked of homeowners by the company during the registration process about guns and dogs in the homes.

Police issued a news release earlier this week for residents to ignore all communication from the company.

“The Warner Robins Police Department does not agree with CryWolf Alarm Solutions’ recent business practices with regard to our community at this time,” the release said. “We also do not support their policy to ask our residents invasive questions or misrepresent our department. We did not authorize their company to notify our residents to renew their alarm system registrations.”

Jennifer Parson, public information officer for Warner Robins police, said the agency felt it was important to get the word out to residents, hence, the release.

“We still recognize that it is an issue and that we need to curb the false alarms, especially in the commercial businesses,” Parson said. “But at this point ... we don’t have any alternative.”

City Attorney Jim Elliott said he’s reviewing the contract and communications between the company and police in order to develop a recommendation on how to proceed.

Likely, the options will come down to either working with the company to resolve any differences, or exiting the contract, Elliott said.

Additionally, the city could not move forward with another vendor to provide a similar service until resolving the conflict with Public Safety Corp., he said.

The contract calls for the company’s reimbursement of setup fees if the contract is broken within the first two years for any reason other than a breach of contract. The company would have earned its pay from a portion of fines charged for false alarms, according to the contract.

The city contracted with Public Safety Corp. to administer its CryWolf software for false alarm management in November 2015.

In July 2015, the city approved the ordinance that allowed fines to be imposed for multiple false alarms and established penalty amounts. A year later, and amid the launch of the program, police suspended its implementation.

Jean Schommer, director of marketing for Public Safety Corp., could not be reached for comment.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "A false-alarm monitoring system was on hold, but some got registration notices anyway."