Warner Robins delays false alarm monitoring

Police Chief Brett Evans said Monday he is delaying implementation of the CryWolf false-alarm monitoring system due to public confusion and other issues.

He said it’s possible the city may not implement the system at all.

The city had contracted with Public Safety Corp. to monitor false alarms with its CryWolf software. Fines would be issued to those who violate a city ordinance aimed at curtailing false alarms. Businesses and residents with alarms had until Monday to register with the company, but that requirement is dropped for now.

Evans told the City Council on Monday that he is not happy with the company’s responsiveness as he has tried to work out public concerns. One is that people did not like certain questions the company was asking people who were registering, including whether they had guns or dogs.

Evans said he understood the company’s reasoning was to provide information to officers responding to a call, but he thought the questions were “invasive” for this area. He said if the city goes forward with it in the future, he wanted an agreement with the company on what questions could be asked.

Evans also said he heard from some elderly people who thought there were going to be limitations on how often they could call 911. Evans said there were no limitations, and that kind of confusion is why he wanted to delay the system for now.

The false alarm ordinance remains in place, he said; it’s just that the agreement with the company to keep track of violators is on hold for now.

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Warner Robins delays false alarm monitoring."