Seattle Police Will No Longer Respond to Most Home Alarms. Here’s How to Guarantee a Response.

by Melissa Blackerby | Nov 14, 2024

The Seattle Police Department has recently announced that they will no longer be responding to home alarm calls unless there is verified evidence of a crime in progress. This decision has sparked some concern and confusion among residents, but there are steps you can take to ensure a response from the police in case of an emergency.

As of October 1, the Seattle Police Department will no longer respond to home alarms.

The Seattle Police Department has announced that they will only respond to home alarms if they receive human verification of a crime. This means video footage, audio proof, panic alarms, or eyewitness testimony. While this may seem like a drastic change, it is actually in line with the department’s efforts to prioritize emergency calls and reduce false alarms.

RELATED POST: Do Police Respond to Home Alarms?

Many major cities already have no-response policies — and more are expected to follow suit.

Seattle isn’t the first city to enact this radical change. Many other municipal police departments across the nation have preceded Seattle in this policy move:

A total of 26 cities, boasting a combined population of 7,218,593 residents, have implemented no-response policies.
For more than 40% of residents living in U.S. cities with a population of 50,000 or more, the police will not respond or will not guarantee a response to residential alarm calls.
Among American cities with 1 million or more residents, nearly 80% have no guaranteed police coverage for their alarms.

Why aren’t Seattle police responding to home alarms?

Because most of the time when home alarms are triggered, it ends up being a false alarm. In fact, an estimated 95% of alarm calls are false. It could be caused by a pet, a faulty sensor, or simply user error.

This means that a significant amount of police resources were previously spent responding to non-emergency calls, taking away from their ability to respond to actual crimes in progress. By implementing this new policy, the Seattle Police Department aims to prioritize their resources and focus on genuine emergencies.

How can Seattle homeowners guarantee an alarm response from police?

To ensure the police respond to home alarms, they’ll require human verification of a crime or emergency. Homeowners can take several proactive measures to facilitate this.

Most alarm systems aren’t able to provide this level of verification, or they rely on the homeowner themselves to monitor and take action in the case of an emergency.

So what can homeowners do to ensure the police will come when their alarm sounds? Enter Deep Sentinel, an advanced security solution that provides the verification the police needs:

Deep Sentinel employs live security guards who verify threats in real-time using remote video monitoring. With Deep Sentinel, a triggered alarm won’t be dismissed as yet another false alarm. Instead, it will be examined by trained professionals who, if they verify a threat, can request an immediate police response.

Designed to provide law enforcement with up-to-the-second details of a verified crime in progress, Deep Sentinel’s solution guarantees that police will respond to your home in an emergency.

Deep Sentinel is the recommended security solution for homeowners looking to guarantee a police response to alarms. Get Deep Sentinel today – and rest easy knowing your home is protected by real humans actively working to keep you safe.

Need a Solution that Prevents Crime?
Deep Sentinel is the only security technology that delivers the experience of a personal guard on every customer’s home and business. Visit deepsentinel.com or call 833-983-6006