69. The Hidden Cost of False Alarms

Freakonomics Radio

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Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6 • 32K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2012

⏱️ 6 minutes

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Summary

If any other product failed 94 percent of the time, you’d probably stop using it. So why do we put up with burglar alarms?

Transcript

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0:00.0	From APM, American Public Media, and WNYC.
0:07.0	This is Freakonomics Radio on Marketplace.
0:11.0	Here's the host of Marketplace, High Rizdo.
0:16.0	Time now for a little bit of Freakonomics Radio that moment in the broadcast every couple of weeks
0:20.0	where we talk to Stephen Nubner, the co-author of the books and the blog.
0:23.0	I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm fighting through it.
0:26.0	Okay, folks in the blog of the same name, it is of course the hidden side of everything.
0:31.0	Ah, let me find the button, Kai.
0:33.0	I got it. Apologies.
0:35.0	So what are you doing?
0:36.0	I'm sorry, we just put a burglar alarm in the studio here.
0:38.0	It goes off like every five minutes.
0:39.0	One would think you'd be able to turn it off when you're on the radio, dude.
0:42.0	You would, but you know, it's not just me, Kai.
0:44.0	Do you have any idea what the false alarm rate is for burglar alarms in this country?
0:48.0	Well, I'm just going to guess you're trying to make a point here.
0:50.0	So I would say, hi, yes.
0:52.0	The data show that false alarms account for 94 to 99% of all alarm calls.
0:58.0	Wow.
0:59.0	I mean, that's great that they're false alarms, but it's bad that they're false alarms, right?
1:02.0	Well, you know who hates it even more than the homeowners are the police.
1:06.0	Yeah, of course.
	...

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