Social cost benefit analysis of commercial and residential burglar and fire alarms

Abstract

This paper evaluates the net benefits yielded by residential and commercial burglar and fire alarm systems. The policy issue addressed is whether or not alarms should be encouraged by local police departments as a crime prevention measure. It is shown that the total benefits of burglar alarm ownership outweigh the total costs for the combined and separate commercial and residential units. Police respond to each activation with two patrol cars. On the average, alarms are activated 1.12 times a year, and 94 to 98 percent of all activations are false. Thus, alarms impose a significant burden on police resources. Additionally, the fear of being fined is not an effective deterrent against the installation of a burglar alarm. The data was gathered from a suburban community in Pennsylvania that is a prototype for many U.S. suburban localities. The data is regarding individual properties collected from police files on the attributes of burglaries and alarm ownership. Attributes of properties were derived from the real estate board of the county. Data on incidents and the value of property stolen was obtained from questionnaires sent out to all burglary victims.