City officials will soon have new authority to charge fees when residents make repeated false emergency calls, following the City Council's unanimous approval Tuesday of an amendment to Riverside's false alarm ordinance.
The measure directly addresses situations where neighbors weaponize the 911 system through false reports, a concern raised by Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes who described cases where police repeatedly responded to nonexistent parties in Ward 2 neighborhoods.
"We've had situations where someone keeps calling and saying there's a party, there's a party. Police are responding and there is no party," Cervantes said. "I would hate to see residents manipulate or utilize this to again, try to get citations put on other neighbors in their community that are, in fact not doing anything."
Fire Chief Steve McKinster assured the council that each case will be reviewed individually to ensure appropriate enforcement, with false callers, not innocent property owners, acing potential fees.
Under the amended ordinance, the city can charge fees to individuals or businesses that generate excessive false alarms or emergency responses. The measure passed unanimously after Councilmember Philip Falcone, who introduced the item, clarified that fees would target those making false calls rather than the addresses they report.
"It's really about the person who's falsifying these calls," Falcone explained. "The objective is to get control of some of that, and we're expending a lot of resources on situations like that."
The amendment also addresses what city officials describe as a costly pattern of frivolous lawsuits and false emergency calls. During discussion, Falcone noted that the city's 60% ownership stake in Gage Canal has resulted in expensive legal proceedings that could have been avoided.
Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Conder, presiding in Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson's absence, acknowledged the challenge of neighbor disputes being weaponized through emergency services. "Because of my 18 years in the building, I have seen neighbor to neighbor disputes where they use this as a weapon, and it doesn't need to be weaponized," Conder said.
How It Works
The fire department will develop implementation guidelines and training for staff to ensure consistent application. Officials plan to focus on education first, with enforcement measures applied to repeat offenders. Fire Chief McKinster emphasized that staff will work with other city departments to establish fair procedures for determining when fees should be applied.
The ordinance allows for appeals and review processes to protect residents who may be unfairly targeted. City staff will track patterns of false alarms and emergency calls to identify legitimate enforcement opportunities while avoiding overreach.
"Each one of these will be reviewed individually," McKinster said. "We would have to look and educate and then look at how we're going to enforce that piece, so it's doing it the right way."
Cervantes expressed support after receiving assurances about safeguards. "I'm happy to move to approve, but just wanted to make sure we address that," she said.
