[HISTORY: Adopted by Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Springfield: Article I, 4-14-1970 as Ord. No. 841;
Article II, 10-12-1976 as Ord. No. 959. Amendments noted where applicable.)
[Adopted 4-14-1970 as Ord. No. 841]
No part of any private burglar alarm system
shall be connected to facilities of the Township of Springfield Police
Department or maintained in the Municipal Building of the Township
of Springfield without a permit therefor issued by the Township Secretary.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 1560]
Each application for a permit or renewal of a permit shall be made in writing upon forms provided by the Township Secretary, and each application shall be accompanied by payment of a permit fee as indicated in Chapter 40, Fee Schedule, of the Code of the Township of Springfield.
Each permit shall be valid for a period of one
year from date of issuance and may be renewed annually upon application
to the Township Secretary and payment of the permit fee.
The Public Safety Committee of the Board of
Commissioners is hereby authorized to establish and, from time to
time, revise standards and requirements for burglar alarms.
No permit will be granted or renewed for a private
burglar alarm system which does not comply with such standards and
requirements as may be imposed by the Public Safety Committee.
All users of presently existing installations
of private burglar alarm systems are hereby required to apply for
a permit not later than December 31, 1970.
Any burglar alarm system for which a valid permit
has not been granted or renewed as required by this ordinance shall
be disconnected without further notice to the owner or installer.
The cost of such removal may be collected in an action of assumpsit
by the township against any person, firm or corporation in whose benefit
the alarm was installed or in whose name an application for permit
was made or permit granted.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent
herewith are hereby repealed.
[Adopted 10-12-1976 as Ord. No. 959]
The following definitions shall apply to the
interpretation and enforcement of this ordinance:
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal outside
the building and is designed to attract attention when activated by
a criminal act or other emergency requiring policemen or firemen to
respond.
An electrically or battery operated device composed of sensory
apparatus and related hardware which automatically transmits any form
of alarm or signal, including but not limited to a prerecorded voice
alarm, from the premises to the Police or Fire Department via regular
telephone lines, upon receipt of a stimulus from a sensory apparatus
that has detected a physical force or condition inherently characteristic
of intrusion or fire.
Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, any
audible alarm or any other direct or indirect signal given to the
Police or Fire Department to which police and firemen respond which
is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery or similar emergency.
The Township of Springfield Police Department.
The Township of Springfield Fire Department.
The Township of Springfield, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
After the enactment of this ordinance, owners
or lessees must equip all audible alarms with a timing mechanism that
will disengage the audible alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes.
Audible alarms without such a timing mechanism shall be unlawful in
the township and must be disconnected by the owner or lessee within
60 days from the effective date of this ordinance.
[Added 11-9-1988 by Ord. No. 1193]
All owners or lessees of an automatic protection
device, as defined in this ordinance and sometimes referred to as
a "protective direct dialer," shall register the telephone line installation
of said device with the Springfield Township Police Department within
seven days of the completed installation. The registration shall be
made in writing upon a form provided by the Police Department, and
each application shall be accompanied by payment of a registration
fee of $25. All existing devices are to be registered no later than
January 31, 1989.
[Added 11-9-1988 by Ord. No. 1193]
Each registration of an automatic protection
device shall be and remain valid for the life of the specific device
registered.
[Added 11-9-1988 by Ord. No. 1193]
The provisions of this ordinance shall apply
to all alarm systems and warning devices irrespective of when such
systems shall have been installed. It is the specific purpose of this
section to give this ordinance retroactive effect.
No person shall conduct any test or demonstration
of an automatic protection device without first obtaining permission
of the Police and Fire Departments.
Any person found guilty of permitting or causing
a false alarm, misuse, false activation or negligent activation within
the same calendar year shall be punished as follows:
Should any section or provision of this ordinance
be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole
or any other part thereof.
