alarm not recognizing hood closing

I currently have the factory alarm system on my 02 Jetta. About six months ago, I brought it to a VW auto repair shop (not dealer), to find out why my alarm keeps going off at random.

First, they scanned it and said there was nothing wrong. This was a shop (that shall remain unnamed, because it's not their fault) in San Francisco that specializes in German autos. They found nothing wrong with the door latches or alarm system.

Then, I brought it to a shop in Eureka, CA. The man generously offered to check each and every door latch to see if the alarm system is recognizing that it's shut. Finally, he found out that the hood latch is not being recognized as shut by the alarm system.

My dad suggested that I should hotwire the hood latch just to make sure it shuts.

Any suggestions?

Not sure what your dad is saying. It sounds like the hood IS latching but the switch that detects that is not working. You need to find the switch/sensor that detects it and fix/replace it.