ALARM COORDINATOR

A position awash in facts and figures, our alarm coordinator, Jim Cogswell, is responsible for coordinating more than 4,300 residential and commercial alarm systems within the city and the inevitable false alarms they generate.

In addition, Cogswell also serves as the primary evidence custodian.  He is responsible for taking in, sorting and storing all of the evidence collected by Leawood officers.
 

To contact the Alarm Coordinator, Jim Cogswell, call (913) 642-5555 ext. 280 or email jimc@leawood.org.

ALARM INFORMATION

Alarm Fees

The initial fee is $10.00 per calendar year and the fee is pro-rated quarterly. Please contact the Alarm Coordinator for the correct amount for your system.

The renewal fees will be $10.00.

False alarm penalty fees are as follows:

Alarm Regulations

City Ordinance 1467C, Article 3, Sections 11-301 through 11-311 governs the use of alarm systems for Leawood homes and businesses. The purpose of the Ordinance is to gain some measure of control over the ever-increasing use of automatic alarm systems and to give fire and police personnel some idea of what to expect when responding to an alarm activation.

There is no requirement that Leawood Police or Fire Department personnel respond to any call from an alarm monitoring company of an alarm activation. However, as part of our mission of service to our citizens, every effort will be made to respond, in a timely manner, to alarm activation's of registered systems by our emergency services personnel.

New alarm systems are required to be registered with the Alarm Coordinator as soon as possible (instructions for registering an alarm are included below) when an alarm system is installed or activated. The registration form can be obtained from the Police Department at 9617 Lee Blvd. or can be mailed to the alarm user. Each January, registered users will receive a renewal form in the mail that should be updated with current information and returned with the appropriate renewal fee. All information furnished on the Registration Forms is confidential and is available only to the Communications personnel processing an alarm activation and the Alarm Coordinator.

You may have any type of system you desire and you may use any alarm installation or monitoring company. YOU are responsible for the operation of the alarm system and you should work with your alarm company and the Alarm Coordinator to insure that your system works trouble free.

Each alarm user is allowed two false alarm activation each calendar year without penalty. After your second alarm, you will receive a letter informing you of the penalty fees for future false alarms and advising you of the next scheduled False Alarm Prevention School. You are REQUIRED to attend this school unless there is sufficient evidence that the problem causing the false alarm activation's has been solved by the alarm user. The Alarm Coordinator makes the final determination on Alarm School attendance.

False alarm calls waste valuable time and resources of the Police and Fire Departments. In addition, they cost the alarm user larger monitoring fees to pay for the additional personnel needed to staff the monitoring centers. While you are not penalized for things that are beyond your control (weather, equipment failure, etc.), you are responsible for anyone to whom you give access to your home or place of business.

Leawood's False Alarm Reduction Program takes a multi-level approach to false alarms. First, the False Alarm Prevention School has been developed with the assistance of the Kansas City Burglar & Fire Alarm Association. The 2 hour class shows the alarm user how alarm systems work and how to prevent false alarms. Second, there is an escalating scale of penalty fees for those alarm users who continue to have false alarms. Third, alarm users can be placed on "No Response Status" by the Chief of Police for refusing to register or renew the alarm registration or for failing to attend False Alarm Prevention School or for failing to pay a false alarm penalty.

Alarm users who are in violation of the Ordinance can be cited in Municipal Court by the Alarm Coordinator. Violations of the Ordinance can incur fines up to $500.00 per day per violation.

Registering an Alarm

Please follow the instructions listed below when completing the alarm registration application form [56.92 KB - PDF File] . Your application will not be processed unless all the information is provided and legible. If any information changes or needs to be updated in any way, you must notify the Alarm Coordinator. The REGISTRATION FEE for both business and residential alarm systems is $10.00 per year. THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL MONETARY FEE FOR A REVISION.

PERMIT # : Leave blank, this is for the Police Department record keeping purposes only.

DATE: The date you are filling this form out.

1. Business or Residential Alarm: Indicate where alarm is used.

2. Type of System: Mark whether the alarm is audible only, monitored by an agency and/or if it is a fire alarm only.
Definitions: FIRE - A system primarily designed to detect fire or smoke within the premises or structure.
AUDIBLE ONLY - A system that has only an audible sound and does not send a message or signal to a monitoring agency.

3. Date Alarm Installed or Took Possession: Date the alarm system was installed or date you took possession of property. If exact date is unknown, an estimate is acceptable.

4. Name, Address, and Telephone No.: If a business, enter the complete name of the business as it is known locally, the business address, and business telephone. Residential user is that person actually making use of an alarm device (such a head of the household). If the business or resident moves or should close, you should contact the Alarm Coordinator. The address is the actual street address of the location of the alarm. No Post Office Boxes. Work telephone number, if residential, of the resident. If a residential alarm, THIS MUST BE THE SAME PERSON TO SIGN THE APPLICATION. THIS WILL BE THE PERSON CITED FOR ANY ALARM VIOLATIONS THAT MIGHT OCCUR. If a business, the first contact person (or owner/manager) will be the person cited.

5. Contact Person: Enter complete name of two people who will respond to an alarm incident at the request of police. May be another responsible business person or a designated employee. Residential alarm users should designate a relative or trusted neighbor, etc. (The contact person should have a key to the residence or business and access code to the alarm to reset it.) All addresses and telephone numbers entered here should be of residential origin. It is recommended that for businesses, two contact people should be listed. If more than 2 contact persons, additional ones can be listed in the "Additional Information" section at the bottom of the form.

6. Alarm Company: Full name and address of the alarm company or person(s) installing (or who has already installed) the alarm system. If unknown, enter "unknown".

7. Pets: Any pets at the residence--this should include the type of pet, whether aggressive or friendly and whether an inside or outside pet.

8. Names and Ages of Children in the Residence: At the request of many residents, we will list minor children by name and age so that the Fire or Police pereonnel who respond in an emergency will know that there are children in the residence. You may also list any individuals who have physical or mental disabilities that would require special care.

9. Additional Information: Please use this space for any additional contact persons, any disabled persons living at the residence and what type of disability they may have, any storage of chemicals or hazardous materials at either business or residence, and any additional information you feel is pertinent or useful for responding fire or police personnel. Businesses, please list your business hours.

SIGN THE FORM--DO NOT FILL OUT ANYTHING BELOW THE SIGNATURE LINE.

Failure to keep a current permit application could result in citations being issued in error. A former employee or resident could have a citation and possibly a warrant issued for their arrest.

Please SIGN and RETURN the completed application and REGISTRATION FEE of $10.00 to:

LEAWOOD, KANSAS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ALARM COORDINATOR
9617 LEE BOULEVARD
LEAWOOD, KANSAS 66206