The Tracy Record - The burglar alarm in a portable classroom at Hawkins School went off at 11:43 p.m. Monday.

The Montclair Times - There are 4,000 incidents each year when Montclair police officers are dispatched to residents’ homes only to discover that an emergency situation does not exist.

Security Sales & Integration - Police in the Northern California city of Modesto have announced that they will be the third city in the state to institute a total verified response policy. As of Sept. 1, police will not put a priority on responding to residential and commercial burglar alarms unless they are verified by the alarm owner or alarm company.

Wisconsin State Journal - When Madison police officers are summoned by one of the private alarm systems that protect more than 5,000 of the city's homes and businesses, 97 percent of the time, they end up responding to false alarms. Soon, they may start screening their calls.

Security Sales & Integration - A city ordinance has been proposed in Madison, Wis., where police won't respond to commercial and residential burglar alarms unless they receive verification from a person that there is evidence of an intrusion or other crime at the alarm site. If approved, Madison — the capital city of Wisconsin and home to the University of Wisconsin — would become the second city in the state to adopt verified response.

New York Daily News - Putting up a "Beware of Dog" sign is one way to scare off intruders, but homeowners these days are turning to more high-tech means of protection.

MercuryNews.com - A year after Fremont police stopped responding to burglar alarms -- unless they had independent confirmation that a home or business had been broken into -- the department's statistics show that burglary rates jumped 14.4 percent from the previous year.

Tracy Press - The Tracy Police Department thinks it has found a way to decrease the number of false burglar alarms from more than 98 percent to 50 percent and still fight crime. Tonight, it will ask the Tracy City Council to support changes in a city code that will force alarm companies and alarm users to be more active in the process.