“False alarm dispatches from police are the number one call for service in most cases,” Glen Mowrey of the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) said. “For the police department to operate efficiently, these have to be reduced.”

“In the past two years the Marietta Police Department’s alarm management program, which involves all principles of community policing and problem-oriented policing, has reduced alarm calls by 65 percent,” Mowrey said. “This is one of the top in the nation we’ve had in several years.” The police department has seen a 26 percent decrease in the number of total calls for service as a result of the drop in false alarms, he said. “The results of the program are really outstanding.”

As a result of the ordinance, Marietta Police officers have more time to devote to proactive work on the streets, follow up on investigations, community policing, and are able to respond to calls faster, Mowrey said.

The SIAC looked at several aspects of Marietta’s alarm management program including the beginning of developing the program, which included bringing in stakeholders, members of the alarm industry and the community to look at the issue of false alarms, Mowrey said. “The program was then brought before City Council with the best practices for reducing false alarms,” he said. “Council approved the practices, and the ordinance was put in place.”

“The next aspect the SIAC examined was the building and tracking program, which really sets Marietta’s alarm management program apart from a lot of other programs I’m working with,” Mowrey said. “As a result of the program, the police department is able to operate more efficiently and better use officers’ time,” he said. “The department and city are to be commended for the job you’ve done.”

The Marietta Police Department has the highest percentage of reducing false alarms in the past three or four years out of approximately 60-70 agencies across the country Mowrey is working with. “Marietta’s alarm management program is a sustained program because after the first year numbers seem to drop off,” he said. “The Marietta Police Department’s numbers have stayed steady.”

Mowrey encouraged alarm users to pay attention to their alarms, to help make the program work for the city. “Ninety percent of false alarms and activations in Marietta and across the country are human error,” he said. “The Marietta Police Department has done a great job of educating the public about the program, which will ultimately change alarm users’ behavior.”

City Council passed the alarm ordinance in July 2007. Alarm users are allowed up to two false alarms without penalty a year, and then fines will be assessed.
Register your alarm

Under the ordinance, every residential and business alarm user in the city of Marietta must obtain a free permit from the city. The permit registers an alarm system with the city for tracking purposes, and permits are not transferable. Each new occupant of a dwelling or business must apply for a new permit, and failure to register an alarm is subject to a $100 fine.

Complete the registration form online
Enforcement

The ordinance allows alarm users up to two false alarms each 12-month period with no penalty.

Beginning with the third false alarm, fines will be assessed as follows:

* First and second false alarm: no charge
* Third through fifth false alarm: $50
* Sixth false alarm: $100
* Seventh false alarm: $100
* Eighth false alarm: $250
* Ninth false alarm: $250
* Tenth and over false alarm: $500
* Failure to register: $100

Violations of the ordinance are civil in nature and do not constitute a misdemeanor or criminal charge.

There is also an appeals process for alarm users who receive fines for false alarms.

For more information, call the Marietta Police Department at 770-794-2364.

Now you have the chance this fall of 2009. The Marietta Police Department will offer citizens the chance to experience what it’s like to be a police officer when it hosts its Citizens’ Police Academy this fall. The department is accepting applications for the 11-week program, which will meet every Monday from 6-9 p.m. September 28-December 7, 2009.

Participants will learn about the department’s operations, see demonstrations and participate in hands-on training given by the department’s officers. Participants will learn the challenges police officers face on the streets through role-playing scenarios and ride-alongs with officers during a patrol shift.

Topics

• Crime analysis
• Narcotics
• Special weapons and tactics (SWAT)
• Crime interdiction unit
• Detectives
• Traffic enforcement
• Community response unit
• Crime scene processing

How to apply

The Academy is open to the public pending a background check. Applications are available at the front desk of the Marietta Police Department at 240 Lemon Street.

For more information, call Senior Police Officer Tyrone Lawary at 770-794-2361.

In a move to crack down on illicit activity at city parks, Marietta officials are considering installing stationary surveillance cameras at Burruss and Wildwood Parks.

“People who commit crime don’t want to be seen, they definitely don’t want the police to see them and they don’t want to be seen by the general public,” said Deputy Chief Bream.

Marietta officials say they are considering a system similar to the security cameras currently in place at some of the city’s government facilities.

Take a look at the Fox 5 clip below about the issue.

Chelsea Steele, 17, was arrested after she stole a box containing $147 from a group of children, including a wheelchair-confined child, at a neighborhood pool on Sandy Plains Road, according to the arrest warrant. The children were selling T-shirts and hats to benefit a father’s struggling embroidery business when the incident took place last Friday.

After taking the cash, Steele fled the St. Charles Square subdivision in a Ford Taurus with three other girls, said county police spokesman Joe Hernandez. She was arrested that night and has been in the Cobb County Jail since July 4 on felony charges of robbery and a misdemeanor charge of underage possession of alcohol. A $5,000 bond was set Wednesday, though it’s unclear whether Steele has posted bond. Calls to her attorney were not quickly returned.

There was a total of $147 taken at pool party in Marietta. A $5,000 bond set Wednesday for Sprayberry student. She has been released from Jail on Bond.

The names of the other girls have not been released because of their age. Charges against them are pending, Hernandez said.

Joe Green said his two daughters, ages 9 and 11, organized the sale of Fourth of July gear to earn summer money and help his company, JAG Designs.

Honea said police do not have any evidence that there are more victims in this case, but detectives are still investigating.

“The alleged conduct is not tolerated at our organization and immediate action was taken to fully cooperate with the Marietta City Police Department,” WellStar said in a statement relating to the incident. “All employees undergo a criminal background check before they are hired.”

In an unrelated but similar incident, WellStar is facing a civil lawsuit in which three former hospital employees are accused of sexually assaulting four patients. “

A vehicle found with a suspicious package prompted authorities to shut down Cobb (U.S. 41) in front of the base, snarling the afternoon rush hour in Cobb County. The road was still closed as of 9 p.m.

Marietta police created a perimeter on Cobb, not allowing any traffic within 5,000 feet of the base. A wheeled, military robot was dispatched to roll up to the car and look inside.

Police spokesman Mark Bishop said commuters can’t get on Cobb from Delk Road, as both entrances to Dobbins are closed.

The goal of the Marietta Police Department is to educate and protect pedestrians in the city. The initial phase of the plan will begin with warnings and providing educational pamphlets to those disregarding the law. In the coming weeks officers will begin issuing citations. The current fine amount for this violation is $110.00.

Please contact the Marietta Police Department at (770)794-5300 with any questions or concerns regarding this announcement.

MARIETTA, Ga. — A teenager was shot and wounded during a robbery in a Marietta park Thursday night.

The incident began when an employee of La Parilla Restaurant was walking home from work and cut through Brown’s Park.

Three teens in the park pulled guns on the man and tried to rob him.

“As he was running away he called friends who were still at La Parilla and they drove over to Brown’s Park,” said Mark Bishop of the Marietta police department.

Those friends confronted the robbers, but the robbers pulled their guns and opened fire.

One of the men was hit.

The shooting victim ran to a CVS Pharmacy on Powder Springs Road and asked for help. Store employees called 911.

The victim was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital where he is expected to recover.

The robbers escaped.

We’ve all been through the light at the intersection of South Marietta Parkway and Powder Springs road. If you haven’t, then you don’t know just how dangerous this intersection can be to both vehicles and pedestrians. The city of Marietta has installed a traffic enforcement camera at the intersection of Powder Springs Street and South Marietta Parkway to help prevent drivers from running the red light and reduce serious accidents. The city will begin a 30-day warning period December 13. Beginning January 12 the Marietta Police Department will begin issuing citations to motorists who run the red light.
Taking effect in 2004, Marietta’s red light camera program is intended to combat a serious problem with red light running.

The city selected the intersection after recommendations from the Marietta Police Department based on the number and severity of accidents. The accident data is compared, the most dangerous intersections are identified and the city’s vendor does initial testing to determine the number of red light violations that occur at the intersection. City Council then selects the intersection based on this information.

All red light camera intersections are clearly marked for drivers with state-designated signs, which are required by law.

The Georgia Department of Transportation approves all intersection improvements and has approved the installation of the red light camera at Powder Springs Street and South Marietta Parkway.

While the city expects the number of rear-end accidents to initially increase as drivers become aware of the camera, the number of side collisions, which are more serious, are expected to decrease.

A national study by the Federal Highway Administration showed the number of broadside crashes dropped 25 percent at sites with cameras. The study found that rear-end crashes rose 15 percent at camera locations. But because broadside crashes are more dangerous and cause greater damage, the study concluded that the cameras can help reduce the costs of traffic accidents.

The city continuously evaluates its red light camera data to see what improvements can be made to improve safety.

For more information about Marietta’s red light camera program, call Marietta Municipal Court at 770-794-5261.

Last year, the most common call for service was to alarms and there were almost double as many calls as for the number two call for service, traffic accidents.

Of the about 43,000 alarm calls, almost 99 percent were false. “We want our highly-trained officers to be able to spend their time patrolling and preventing crime instead of spending 10-20 percent of their days checking erroneous burglar alarm calls,” Mickey Lloyd, Public Safety Director, said.

An officer spends an average of 20 minutes on a burglar alarm call, so false alarms wasted approximately 15,840 man hours in 2007. That’s an estimated $368,000 of taxpayer money that could have been used to better serve and protect residents.

“The goal of the ordinance is to reduce wasted man hours spent responding to false alarms,” Lloyd said. “We hope to cut the number of false alarms by 50 percent over the next five years.”

All residents in unincorporated Cobb who have burglar alarms in their homes or businesses are required to register the system with the county.

Registering alarms has many benefits to home and business owners. It provides police with contact information in case of a suspected break-in. Police usually contact owners to see how they want the property secured.

Registration begins Oct. 1 and all alarms must be registered by Dec. 31.

Motor vehicle or boat alarms, fire alarms and alarms designed to elicit a medical response do not have to be registered.

For more information, please contact:

False Alarm Reduction Unit

(770) 528-3819