The Liberty Police Department will begin using Central Square Corporation for the management of its alarm permitting and billing with a program called CryWolf to track and process false alarms.
City of Liberty ordinances require that any individual, organization or business who operates an alarm system obtain an alarm permit. Starting Monday, March 31, all alarm related services including alarm permit registrations, renewals and payments will be completed online through Central Square » https://www.crywolfservices.com/libertymo/. Central Square will mail letters in early April to those who have obtained an alarm permit within the last four years with instructions for how to apply for a new permit.
The vast majority of intrusion alarms officers respond to are accidental or false in nature. False alarms often result from malfunctioning alarm systems, user error or lack of proper training, leading to an increased number of unnecessary responses. Between January 1, 2021 and September 30, 2024, the Liberty Police Department received 3,216 intrusion alarm calls for service. Of those:
- no crime had occurred (false alarm) at approximately 2,808
- 430 hours of officer time could have been used responding to other calls
- only 18 of the reported calls had a criminal report or arrest made
- 25 addresses accounted for 686 false alarm calls or 24.4% of the false alarms
Liberty joins 41 other Missouri agencies using the Central Square and CryWolf service, including several other departments within the Kansas City metropolitan area. CryWolf will track false alarm calls in an effort to reduce the number of false alarms that officers are dispatched to. After 2 false alarms, the system will issue a $25 fine. Fines increase with each false alarm thereafter.
The Liberty Police Department will continue to assist residents as needed with registration of their alarm system in person, by phone at 816-439-4740 or by email at policerecords@libertymo.gov. Central Square customer service support is available by calling 833.799.6857.