[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Mount
Oliver 6-16-2003 by Ord. No. 872. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The purpose of this chapter is to encourage alarm users
and alarm companies to properly use and maintain the operational effectiveness
and proper utilization of alarm systems and to reduce or eliminate false alarms
which may unduly divert law enforcement from responding to criminal activity.
B.
This chapter governs systems intended to summon law enforcement
and fire response, and requires registration, establishes fees, provides for
penalties for violation, establishes a system of administration, and sets
conditions for suspension or loss of registration.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Persons designated by the governing authority that should be representative
of the community, alarm industry, and law enforcement. The Advisory Board
should review and recommend false alarm reduction efforts and report to the
governing authority.
A person or persons designated by the governing authority to administer,
control and review false alarm reduction efforts.
The business, by an individual, partnership, corporation or other
entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing,
moving, installing or monitoring an alarm system in an alarm site.
A notification to a law enforcement agency that an alarm, either
manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular alarm site.
The notification by an alarm company or an alarm user of the alarm
administration that an alarm system has been installed and is muse.
Should consist of five members as follows: the Chief of Police or
designee, Borough Secretary or designee, member of Borough Council or designee,
a representative of the Fire Department or designee, and an at-large appointee
of the Borough Council that cannot be resolved at a first level. All appointees
shall serve at the pleasure of Council.
A single fixed premises or location served by an alarm system or
systems. Each tenancy, if served by a separate alarm system in a multitenant
building or complex, shall be considered a separate alarm site.
A device or series of devices, including, but not limited to, systems
interconnected with a radio frequency method such as cellular or private radio
signals, which emit or transmit a remote or local audible, visual or electronic
signal indicating an alarm condition and intended to summon law enforcement
service of the municipality. Alarm systems do not include an alarm installed
in a vehicle or person unless the vehicle or personal alarm is permanently
located at a site.
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity who (which)
uses or is in control of any alarm system at its alarm site.
A class conducted by the municipality or law enforcement agency for
the purpose of educating alarm users about the problems created by false alarms
and responsible use and operation of alarm systems.
Any electrical, electronic, mechanical or other device capable of
being programmed to send a prerecorded voice message when activated, over
a telephone line radio or other communication system, to a law enforcement
agency.
The process by which an alarm company providing monitoring verifies
with the alarm user or responsible party that a false dispatch has occurred
and that there is not an existing situation at the alarm site requiring law
enforcement agency response.
The transaction or process by which one alarm company begins monitoring
of a previously unmonitored alarm system or an alarm system previously monitored
by another alarm company.
A silent alarm system signal generated by the manual activation of
a device intended to signal a life-threatening situation or a crime in progress
requiring law enforcement response.
An alarm dispatch request to a law enforcement agency, when the responding
officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense
alter having completed a timely investigation of the alarm site.
A silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of a device
intended to signal a robbery in progress.
A device that allows control of an alarm system by the manual entering
of a coded sequence of numbers or letters.
The Borough Police Department, director of a law enforcement agency,
or an authorized representative.
A license issued to an alarm company to sell, install monitor, repair,
or replace alarm systems by an authority having jurisdiction.
Any alarm system that annunciates an alarm only by an internal or
external audio device.
The process by which an alarm company receives signals from an alarm
system and relays an alarm dispatch request to the municipality for the purpose
of summoning law enforcement response to the alarm site.
The manual activation of a silent alarm signal by entering at a keypad
a code that adds one to the last digit of the normal arm/disarm code (normal
code equals 1234; One plus duress code + 1235).
An audible alarm system signal generated by the manual activation
of a device intended to signal a life-threatening or emergency situation requiring
law enforcement response.
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization
or similar entity.
The transaction or process by which an alarm user takes over control
of an existing alarm system which was previously controlled by another alarm
user.
An attempt by the alarm company or its representative to contact
the alarm site by telephonic or other electronic means, whether or not actual
contact with a person is made, before requesting law enforcement dispatch,
in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request.
Subdivisions into which an alarm system is divided to indicate the
general location from which an alarm system signal is transmitted.
A.
No alarm user shall operate, or cause to be operated,
and alarm system at its alarm site without a valid alarm registration issued
by Mount Oliver Borough. A separate registration is required for each alarm
site. An additional alarm registration classification shall be required for
alarm systems programmed with duress alarm or holdup alarm.
B.
The annual fee for a registration or registration renewal
for a residential alarm site shall be $5 and for a commercial site shall be
$60, and should reflect the administration cost. No refund of a registration
or registration renewal fee will be made. The initial annual registration
fee must be submitted to Mount Oliver Borough within five days after the alarm
installation or alarm takeover. A registration occurring on or before June
30 shall be charged the fill annual fee. A registration occurring after June
30 shall be charged 1/2 the annual fee. An additional fee established
by Mount Oliver Borough shall be assessed for an alarm system programmed with
duress alarm or holdup alarm.
C.
Upon receipt of a completed application form and the
alarm registration fee, Mount Oliver Borough shall register the applicant
unless the applicant has:
D.
Each alarm registration application must include the
following information:
(1)
The name, complete address (including apt/suite number),
and telephone numbers of the person who will be the registration holder and
be responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system
and payment of fees assessed under this chapter;
(2)
The classification of an alarm site shall be either residential
(including single-family dwelling, duplexes, condos, and or mobile homes)
or commercial site:
(3)
For each alarm system located at the alarm site, the
classification of the alarm system, i.e., burglary, holdup, duress, or other,
for each purpose whether audible or silent;
(4)
Mailing address if different from the alarm site;
(5)
Any dangerous or special conditions present at the alarm
site;
(6)
Name and telephone numbers of at least three individuals
who are able and have agreed to receive notification of an alarm activation
at any time, respond to the alarm site within 30 minutes, and upon request
can grant access to the alarm site and deactivate the alarm system if such
becomes necessary;
(7)
Type of business conducted at the alarm site;
(8)
Signed certification from the alarm user stating:
(a)
The date of installation, conversion or takeover of the
alarm system, whichever is applicable;
(b)
The name, address, and phone number of the alarm company
performing the alarm system installation, conversion or alarm system takeover
and responsible for providing repair service to the alarm system:
(c)
The phone number of the alarm company monitoring the
alarm system if different from the installing alarm company;
(d)
That a set of written operating instructions for the
alarm system, including written guidelines on how to avoid false alarms, have
been left with the applicant;
(e)
That the alarm company has trained the applicant in proper
use of the alarm system, including instructions on how to avoid false alarms;
and
(f)
The law enforcement response may be based on factors
such as availability of police units, priority of calls, weather conditions,
traffic conditions, emergency conditions, staffing levels, etc.
E.
Any false statement of a material fact made by an applicant
for the purpose of obtaining an alarm registration shall be sufficient cause
for refusal to issue a registration.
F.
An alarm registration cannot be transferred to another
person of the alarm site. An alarm user shall inform Mount Oliver Borough
of any change that alters any information listed on the registration application
within five business days.
G.
All fees owed by an applicant must be paid before a registration
may be issued or renewed.
A tenant of an apartment with an alarm system shall obtain an alarm
registration from Mount Oliver Borough before operating or causing the operation
of any alarm System in the tenant's residential unit. The owner or property
manager of an apartment complex shall obtain a separate alarm registration
of any alarm system operated in offices or common areas of the apartment complex.
The annual fee for a landlord's registration or the renewal of his or her
registrations shall be the same as the fee for a commercial alarm site. Each
building regardless of the number of units contained therein shall be deemed
as one commercial alarm site and shall pay the annual registration fee for
a commercial alarm site.
A registration shall expire one year from the date of issuance, and
must be renewed annually by submitting an updated application and a registration
renewal fee to Mount Oliver Borough. Mount Oliver Borough shall notify each
alarm user of the need to renew 30 days prior to the expiration date. Failure
to renew will be classified as use of a nonregistered alarm system and citations
and penalties shall be assessed without waiver. A $25 late fee can be assessed
if the renewal is more than 30 days late.
A.
An alarm user shall:
(1)
Maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner
that will minimize or eliminate false alarms;
(2)
Make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a representative
to respond to the alarm system's location within 30 minutes when notified
by the municipality to deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide
access to the premises, or to provide alternative security for the premises,
and should the alarm user either refuse to respond or not respond within 30
minutes, then he/she shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $300; and
(3)
Not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than
an occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report.
B.
An alarm user shall adjust the mechanism or cause the
mechanism to be adjusted so that an alarm signal audible on the exterior of
an alarm site will sound for no longer than 10 minutes after being activated
(or 15 minutes from systems operating under Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.,
standards 365 or 609).
C.
An alarm user shall have a properly licensed alarm company
inspect the alarm system after two false alarms in a one-year period from
the date of registration issuance or renewal. Mount Oliver Borough may waive
an inspection requirement if it determines that a false alarm(s) could not
have been related to a defect or malfunction in the alarm system to be more
false-alarm resistant or provided additional user training as appropriate.
See Appendix A for the Installers False Alarm Prevention Checklist.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said appendix is on file in the Borough offices.
D.
An alarm user shall not use automatic voice dialers.
E.
An alarm user shall maintain at each alarm site a set
of written operating instructions for each alarm System.
A.
Upon enactment of this chapter, alarm companies shall
obtain a permit from Mount Oliver Borough to sell maintenance and/or service
alarm systems in the Borough prior to installation of same. The fee shall
be $50 for each permit issued.
B.
Upon enactment of this chapter, alarm companies shall not program alarm systems so that they are capable of sending one plus duress alarms. Alarm companies may continue to report one plus duress alarms received from alarm systems programmed with one plus duress prior to enactment of this chapter. However, upon enactment of this chapter, when a takeover or conversion occurs or if an alarm user requests an alarm system inspection or modification pursuant to § 60-6C of this chapter, an alarm Company must remove the one plus duress alarm capability from such alarm system.
C.
Upon enactment of this chapter alarm companies shall
not install a device activating a holdup alarm, which is a single-action nonrecessed
button. An alarm company must remove all single-action nonrecessed buttons
when a takeover or conversion occurs.
D.
Upon enactment of this chapter, alarm companies shall
use control panels tested for conformance to the Security Industry Association
(SIA) Control Panel Standard - Features for False Alarm Reduction.
F.
An alarm company performing monitoring services shall:
(1)
Offer a training period in which no request for dispatch
by law enforcement will occur during the first seven days after installation
of an alarm system, but rather will use that week to train the alarm user
on proper use of the alarm system unless circumstances necessitate immediate
request for response as determined by Mount Olive Borough;
(2)
Report alarm signals by using telephone numbers designated
by Mount Oliver Borough;
(3)
Attempt to verify every alarm signal, except a duress
and holdup alarm activation before requesting a law enforcement response to
an alarm system signal;
(4)
Communicate alarm dispatch requests to the municipality
in a manner and form determined by Mount Oliver Borough;
(5)
Communicate cancellations to the municipality in a manner
and form determined by Mount Oliver Borough;
(6)
Ensure that all alarm users of alarm systems equipped
with a duress or holdup alarm are given adequate training as to the proper
use of the duress or holdup alarm;
(7)
Communicate any available information (north, south,
front, back, floor, etc) about the location of the alarm;
(8)
Communicate type of alarm activation (silent or audible,
interior or perimeter);
(9)
Provide alarm user registration number when requesting
dispatch;
(10)
Endeavor to contact the alarm user when an alarm dispatch
request is made; and
(11)
Upon enactment of this chapter, alarm companies that
perform monitoring services must maintain for a period of at least one year
records relating to alarm dispatch requests. Records must include the name,
address, and phone number of the alarm user, the alarm system zone(s) activated,
the time of alarm dispatch request and evidence of an attempt to verify. Mount
Oliver Borough may request copies of such records for individually named alarm
users.
Mount Oliver Borough can appeal to an appropriate governmental body regulating the alarm company to suspend or revoke the alarm company's license when the alarm company fails to comply with the duties listed in § 60-7. In the event Mount Oliver Borough cannot obtain required information about the alarm company from the governmental body regulating the alarm company, Mount Oliver Borough can require the alarm company to supply the required information in a registration with Mount Oliver Borough.
B.
Mount Oliver Borough shall establish a procedure to record
such information on alarm dispatch requests necessary to permit Mount Oliver
Borough to maintain records, including, but not limited to, the following
information. This information may be relayed by the responding officer at
the time of clearance to law enforcement dispatchers, who will then record
said information on the call record.
(1)
Identification of the registration number for the alarm
site;
(2)
Identification of the alarm site;
(3)
Date and time the alarm dispatch request was received;
(4)
Date and time of law enforcement officer arrival at the
alarm site;
(5)
Zone if available;
(6)
Name of alarm user's representative on premises, if any;
(7)
Identification of the responsible alarm company;
(8)
Whether unable to locate the address; and/or
(9)
Cause of alarm if known.
C.
The Alarm Administrator shall establish a procedure for
the notification to the alarm user of the false alarm. Options include but
not limited to the officer leaving a door hanger or notice at the alarm site.
The notice shall include the following information:
(1)
The date and time of law enforcement response to the
false alarm;
(2)
The identification number of the responding law enforcement
officer; and
(3)
A statement urging the alarm user to ensure that the
alarm system is properly operated, inspected, and serviced in order to avoid
false alarms and resulting fines.
D.
If there is reason to believe that an alarm system is
not being used or maintained in a manner that ensures proper operation and
suppresses false alarms, Mount Oliver Borough may require a conference with
an alarm user and the alarm company responsible for the repair of the alarm
system to review the circumstances of each false alarm.
E.
The Alarm Administrator shall oversee the creation and
implementation of any alarm user awareness class. The Alarm Administrator
may request the assistance of alarm companies and a law enforcement agency
in developing and implementing the class. The class shall inform alarm users
of the problems created by false alarms and teach alarm users how to operate
their alarm system without generating false alarms.
A.
An alarm user shall be subject to penalties, warnings
and suspension or revocation of registration depending on the number of false
alarms emitted from an alarm system within a twelve-month period from the
date of registration or renewal based upon the following schedule:
|
Number of False Alarms
|
Penalty
| |
|---|---|---|
|
1, 2, or 3
|
0
| |
|
4
|
$50
| |
|
5
|
$100
| |
|
6 or 7
|
$200
| |
|
8 or more, each
|
$300
|
B.
In addition, any person operating a nonregistered alarm
system (whether suspended or never acquired) will be subject to a citation
and assessment of a $200 penalty for each false alarm, in addition to any
other penalties.
C.
An alarm user shall have the option of attending an Alarm
User Awareness Class in lieu of paying one prescribed penalty.
D.
If cancellation occurs prior to law enforcement arriving
at the scene, this is not a false alarm for the purpose of penalties and no
penalties will be assessed.
E.
The alarm company shall be issued a civil citation if
the officer responding to the false alarm determines that an on-site employee
of the alarm company directly caused the false alarm. In this situation, this
will not be counted against the alarm user.
F.
The alarm company may be penalized for failure to verify
if the Alarm Administrator determines the existence of the consistent pattern
or written policy against verification.
G.
The alarm company can be penalized if the Alarm Administrator
determines that an alarm company employee made a false statement concerning
the inspection of an alarm site or the performance of an alarm system.
A.
The Alarm Administrator may suspend alarm response if
it is determined that:
(1)
The alarm user has four or more false alarms in one year;
(2)
There is a false statement of a material fact in the
application for a registration;
(4)
The alarm user has failed to submit a written certification
from an alarm company that complies with the requirement of this chapter,
stating that the alarm system has been inspected and repaired (if necessary)
by the alarm company.
B.
A person commits an offense if he/she operates an alarm system during the period in which his alarm registrations is suspended and is subject to enforcement and penalties set in § 60-14. An alarm company commits and offense if it continues to request law enforcement dispatch to an alarm site after notification by the Alarm Administrator that the registration has been suspended or revoked and is subject to enforcement and penalties set in § 60-14.
A.
The Alarm Administrator shall notify the alarm user in
writing after the first, second, and third false alarms. The notification
shall include the amount of the penalty for each false alarm, notice that
the alarm user can attend alarm user awareness class to waive a penalty, the
fact that response will be suspended after the fourth false alarm and a description
of the appeals procedure available to the alarm user.
B.
The Alarm Administrator will notify the alarm user and
the alarm company in writing after the fourth false alarm that alarm response
has been suspended. This notice of suspension will also include the amount
of the penalty for each false alarm and a description of the appeals procedure
available to the alarm user and the alarm company.
A.
An alarm user may appeal the assessment of a penalty,
suspension, or request reinstatement to the Alarm Administrator. An appeal
fee of $25 will accompany the appeal by the alarm user. The alarm user will
retain appeal fees if the appeal is upheld. The filing of an appeal with the
Alarm Administrator stays the assessment of the penalty or suspension until
the Alarm Administrator makes a final decision.
B.
The alarm user shall file a written appeal to the Alarm
Administrator by setting forth the reason for the appeal within 10 days after
receipt of the penalty.
C.
If the Alarm Administrator denies the issuance or renewal
of an alarm registration, or suspends response, the Alarm Administrator shall
send written notice of the action and a statement of the right to an appeal
to either the applicant or alarm user and the alarm company.
D.
A second level of appeal is available to the Alarm Review
Board in cases where the alarm user is not satisfied with the decision reached
at a lower level.
(1)
The applicant, alarm user or the alarm company, on behalf
of the alarm user, may appeal the decision of the Alarm Administrator to the
Alarm Review Board by filing a written request for a review setting forth
the reasons for the appeal within 20 days after receipt of the notice from
the Alarm Administrator.
(2)
The Alarm Review Board shall conduct a formal hearing
and consider the evidence by any interested person(s). The Board shall make
its decision on the basis of preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing.
The Board must render a decision within 30 days after the request for an appeal
hearing is filed. The Board shall affirm or reverse the assessment of the
penalty. The decision of the Board is final as to administrative remedies
of the municipality.
(3)
Filing of a request for appeal shall stay the action
of the Alarm Administrator suspending a registration or requiring a payment
of a penalty, until the Alarm Review Board has completed the review. If a
request for an appeal is not made within the twenty-day period, the action
of the Alarm Administrator is final.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall, upon
conviction hereof, before the District Magistrate, pursuant to citation filed,
be sentenced to pay a fine of not less that $50 nor more than $300 and cost
of prosecution, or, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to undergo
imprisonment for not more that 30 days.
Information contained in registration applications and applications
for appeals shall be held in confidence by all employees or representatives
of the municipality and by any third-party administrator or employee of a
third-party administrator with access to such information.
Registration of an alarm system is not intended to, nor will it, create
a contract, duty or obligation, either expressed or implied, or response.
Any and all liability and consequential damage resulting from the failure
to respond to a notification is hereby disclaimed and governmental immunity
as provided by law is retained. By registering an alarm system, the alarm
user acknowledges that police response may be based on factors such as availability
of police units, priority of calls, weather conditions, and traffic conditions,
and emergency conditions staffing levels.
