Suburban Atlanta Town Institutes False Alarm Fine Structure

The city of Canton, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, is among the latest towns to institute a fine structure design to curb false burglar alarm calls.

Canton's new ordinance assesses fines upon the fourth false alarm, charging a $50 fine. A fifth false alarm would be fined $75, and additional false alarm calls are slapped with $100 fees. Additionally, the ordinance requires all alarm systems be permitted, however there is currently no fee charged to obtain a permit.

The ordinance also makes it a violation of the city's noise ordinance if an alarm sounds for more than 10 minutes.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the metro Atlanta newspaper of record, nearby town Woodstock is considering similar measures to reduce false alarms.