Fines for false alarms raise questions

The county government is proposing some of the steepest fines in the state for people whose security systems repeatedly summon police to false alarms.

While the first two bogus alerts would be forgiven, police representatives yesterday proposed a $120 fine for the each of the next four false alarms in one year, then the next six false alerts would cost $500 apiece, and if the security system sends out 13 false alarms or more, each alert could bring a $1,000 fine.

The proposal has not been formally introduced to the County Council, but the draft legislation drew immediate concern from industry leaders and county politicians who...