[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Newington 1-14-1996
by Ord. No. 9395-7 (§§ 9-51 to 9-74 of the
1974 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Noise — See Ch. 291.
The number of false alarms being made to the Police and Fire Departments
hinders the efficiency of those departments, lowers the morale of department
personnel, constitutes a danger to the general public in the streets during
responses to false alarms and jeopardizes the response of volunteers. This
chapter will reduce the number of false alarms and promote the responsible
use of alarm devices in Newington.
For the purposes of this chapter the following words and terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
Any device which, when activated by a criminal act, fire or other
emergency calling for Police or Fire Department response, transmits a signal
to Police Department headquarters; transmits a signal to a person who relays
information to police headquarters; or produces an audible or visible signal
to which the Police or Fire Departments are expected to respond. Excluded
from this definition and the scope of this chapter are devices which are designed
to alert or signal only persons within the premises in which the device is
installed.
The owner of any premises in which an alarm device is used, provided that an occupant who expressly accepts responsibility for an alarm device by registration pursuant to § 136-6 shall be deemed the "alarm user."
Any telephone device or attachment that mechanically or electronically
selects a telephone line to police headquarters and reproduces a prerecorded
voice message to report a criminal act, fire or other emergency calling for
Police or Fire Department response. Excluded from this definition are devices
which relay a digital-coded signal to police headquarters.
An office to which remote alarm devices transmit signals, where operators
monitor those signals and relay information to the Police Department.
Any person, firm or corporation in the business of supplying and
installing alarm devices or servicing the same.
Includes any activation of an alarm device to which the Police or
Fire Department responds and which is not caused by a criminal act, fire or
other emergency, except an activation caused by malfunction of telephone equipment
as verified by monitoring facilities at police headquarters, a letter or other
evidence from the telephone company or other proof, or power failure as verified
by the administrator. A series of such activations attributable to the same
cause and occurring under circumstances beyond the control of the responsible
alarm user shall be deemed a single "false alarm."
The Chief of Police, or his designee, shall serve as the Administrator
for alarm devices and shall have the powers and duties granted herein.
There shall be in the Town an Alarm Appeal Officer who shall have the
powers and duties granted in this chapter. The alarm appeal officer shall
be the Town Manager or his designee.
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall hereafter install
an alarm device without first providing the Alarm Administrator with the name,
address and telephone numbers (home and work) of the owner and of the occupant
(if different) of the premises wherein an alarm device is to be installed
as well as other emergency information as may be determined by the Alarm Administrator.
B.
Each alarm user shall register his alarm device or devices
with the Administrator prior to use, or if in use on the effective date of
this chapter, within 30 days thereafter.
A.
Alarm device registration shall be accomplished by filling
out a form provided by the Administrator to include such information concerning
the identity of the prospective alarm user, the identity of the alarm user's
contractor, if any, and the nature of the proposed or in-use (if in use on
the effective date of this chapter) alarm device as the Administrator may
require. The Administrator shall issue the alarm user a written acknowledgment
of proper registration.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of each alarm user to
notify the Administrator of changes in registration information within 30
days.
Each central station which plans to transmit signals to the Police Department
must register with the Administrator before doing so.
A.
Central station registration shall be accomplished by
filling out a form provided by the Administrator to include such information
as the Administrator may require concerning the identity of the applicant,
the type of its business organization (individual proprietorship, partnership,
corporation), the principal place of business of the entity, the location
of the office monitoring alarms, the staffing of that office and the alarm
users in Newington served by the station. The Administrator shall issue the
central station a written acknowledgment of proper registration.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of each central station
to notify the Administrator of changes in the registration information, but
such notification need not be given more frequently than once a month.
Each contractor wishing to provide authorized inspection and repair
services shall register with the Administrator.
A.
Contractor registration shall be accomplished by filling
out a form provided by the Administrator to include such information concerning
the identity of the applicant, the type of its business organization (individual
proprietorship, partnership, corporation), the principal place of business
of the entity, the places of business from which Newington alarm users will
be served, the types and makes of equipment sold and/or installed and the
types and makes of equipment the contractor is qualified to service as the
Administrator may require. The Administrator shall issue the contractor a
written acknowledgment of proper registration.
B.
There shall be a fee of $25 for each registration accepted.
Unless required by law, no alarm device which produces an exterior audible
signal shall be installed or continue to be in use if currently in use unless
its operation is automatically restricted to a maximum of 15 minutes.
A.
The Police Department and Fire Department shall report
false alarms to the Administrator, based upon the report of the investigating
officer.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the central station
to notify the alarm user or his designated keyholder whenever the central
station reports an alarm activation to the Police Department.
When the Administrator determines that the Police Department or Fire
Department has responded to false alarms which could have been avoided, the
Administrator shall impose a charge on the responsible alarm user according
to the following schedule:
A.
The Administrator shall notify the responsible alarm
user of any false alarm charge by certified mail. Within five working days
after the mailing of such notice, the alarm user may file with the Administrator
information to show that the alarm, or any of the previous four alarms, was
not a false alarm within the meaning of this chapter.
B.
The Administrator shall consider such information, reaffirm
or rescind the false alarm charge and notify the alarm user of its decision
by certified mail. Within five working days after the mailing of such notice,
the alarm user may file with the Alarm Appeal Officer an appeal, in writing.
Upon receipt of a timely appeal from a false alarm charge or a registration
suspension, the Alarm Appeal Officer shall hold a hearing to consider it and
shall mail, by certified mail, notice of the time and place of said hearing
to the alarm user making the appeal at his last known address, at least 15
days before the hearing. On the basis of information provided by the alarm
user and other information introduced at the hearing, the Appeal Officer shall
affirm the charge or suspension if it is determined that the charge or suspension
was properly imposed or rescind the charge or suspension if it is determined
that the charge or suspension was not properly imposed. The Appeal Officer
shall have the authority to rescind a charge or suspension if circumstances
warrant and/or if the alarm user has shown due diligence in taking corrective
action.
Each notice of a false alarm charge, the reaffirmation of such a charge
by the Administrator or the suspension of a registration shall refer to and
provide instructions concerning the alarm user's right to further recourse
by filing information with the Administrator or an appeal with the Alarm Appeal
Officer, as the case may be.
All information in the possession of the Administrator, the Alarm Appeal
Officer, the Police Department or the Fire Department concerning particular
alarm users and particular alarm devices shall not be divulged without the
written consent of the alarm user or users concerned, except that information
as to the frequency of false alarms experienced by an individual alarm user
may be supplied to the contractor who installed or who currently has a contract
to service that user's alarm device.
The Administrator, Police Department and Fire Department shall, with
respect to each and every false alarm, compile information concerning alarm
devices, contractors and sources of false alarms in a form such that the information
may be evaluated in terms of relative reliability of different sorts of alarm
devices and particular contractors and the frequency of false alarms attributable
to different categories of sources. [1]
Any person who performs or causes to be performed any of the following
acts shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed $99 for each such act:
A.
Failure to register an alarm device or give notice of
changes in registration information within the required times and as required
by this chapter.
B.
Use of an automatic dial alarm or an exterior audible
alarm device in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
C.
Installing an alarm device without first providing the
alarm administrator with the name, address and phone number of the owner and
of the occupant (if different) of the premises wherein the alarm device is
to be installed.
Charges for contractor registration, charges for false alarms, and penalties
for violations shall be collected by the Administrator and placed in the general
fund.
The Town, upon authorization of the Administrator, may institute civil
proceedings to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to alarm devices on premises
owned or controlled by the Town, including the Board of Education, the State
of Connecticut or the government of the United States, nor to alarm devices
installed in a licensed motor vehicle, trailer or boat.
