§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost to the Metropolitan police of attendance at burglar alarm calls which proved to be false in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what consideration has been given to charging the owners of such alarms, in the event of a call being false, an amount towards the costs incurred by the police.
§ Mr. HurdI understand that no such figures are available. The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has considered the feasibility of charging for police costs incurred in responding to false alarms, but has decided that in view of the difficulty of establishing conclusively the cause of many such calls, some of which are beyond the control of the subscriber, charging is impracticable. His policy is to withdraw police response from alarm installations which produce too many false calls until the trouble has been put right.