Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Two and Out

PETERS: Business owners shouldn’t be held responsible for nuisance calls

Nov 15, 2024 | 12:30 PM

IF A PERSON IN KAMLOOPS CALLS 9-1-1 because they feel like they’re having a heart attack, but it turns out to be a bad case of indigestion, they are not penalized.

It could be argued that it’s a waste of our emergency responders’ time but that’s kind of built into our system.

Likewise, if someone smells smoke coming from the apartment next door and the firefighters respond but find out it was just a bagel left too long in the toaster, the caller is not penalized.

That type of scenario is the root of the frustration expressed by a North Shore business owner this week.

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Maciej Kucko of Drago’s AutoPro is facing the prospect of being fined under the City of Kamloops’ Security Alarm System Bylaw.

After Kamloops Fire Rescue reported it had responded to a whopping 434 false alarms from Kamloops properties in 2015, council added stiff new penalties for repeat offenders.

The spirit of the bylaw is meant to ensure property owners are installing and maintaining security systems that only alert when there is an actual emergency.

Malfunctioning alarm systems don’t help anyone.

Kucko’s shop has an alarm system and, according to him, it’s doing exactly what it is supposed to. When someone shakes the front door handle or bangs violently on a window, the alarm trips and alerts the authorities.

The problem is, it’s happening a lot these days with the resident transient population. When police show up to investigate, the person who triggered the alarm is long gone — scared off as the system intended.

That’s not a false alarm. That’s an alarm system acting as it should. The person who tripped the alarm may no longer be a threat — but they might have been.

Police and city hall may see it as a waste of time and resources and they’re right.

That is a function of the city we live in, though.

Mental health and addictions, poverty, housing conditions being what they are in Kamloops, there is going to be an explosion in property crime.

When business owners and homeowners like Kucko take appropriate measures to protect their investments, they shouldn’t be punished or threatened with punishment under a bylaw that doesn’t even apply.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.