An intolerable amount of Police and Fire Department resources are being
expended in responding to alarms that have been activated other than by the
commission of a crime or detection of fire. The purpose of this chapter is
to avoid the current waste of these resources by reducing the number of false
alarms to which these Departments must respond.
Whenever used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ALARM BUSINESS
Any business operated by a person or corporation that engages in
the selling, leasing, maintaining, installing, repairing, altering, moving,
replacing or servicing of an alarm device or system.
ALARM SYSTEM
Any device or assembly of equipment and devices designed or intended
to signal the presence of a situation requiring the urgent attention of the
Department of Police and/or Fire Department.
ALARM USER
Any person on whose premises an alarm system is used, operated or
maintained, except for alarm systems on motor vehicles.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
Any alarm system which automatically sends over the telephone lines,
by direct connection or otherwise, a prerecorded voice message or coded signal
indicating the existence of an emergency situation.
CENTRAL ALARM STATION
Any facility operated by a private corporation that owns or leases
a system of alarm devices, which facility is manned by operators who receive,
record or validate alarm signals and relay information about such validated
signals to the Police and/or Fire Department when appropriate.
COUNTY
The Counties of Westmoreland and Allegheny.
FALSE ALARM
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction,
improper installation, improper usage or the negligence of the owner or lessee
of an alarm system or through the error or negligence of employees, guests
or agents of the owner or lessee of the premises. It shall include all alarm
signal activation incidents in which investigation by the Police Department
and/or Fire Department reveals no evidence of the existence of an emergency
condition. Those alarm signals that investigation reveals to have been triggered
by physical damage to the protected premises as a result of hurricane, tornado,
earthquake or other violent natural phenomenon and line trouble signals received
via dedicated telephone lines are excluded from the definition of "false alarm."
PERSON
Any person, partnership, corporation or unincorporated association.
PROPRIETARY SYSTEM
Any alarm system that does not transmit signals to a monitoring system
off premises or to a law enforcement agency but sounds at a control center
on the protected premises and is under the supervision of the proprietor of
the protected premises. When such an alarm monitors conditions that may require
the response of the Department of Police and/or Fire Department personnel,
it becomes an "alarm system" as defined in this chapter.
The following shall be penalties for the offense of a violation of provisions
of this chapter:
A. For operation or maintenance of an alarm system without the automatic cutoff or standby power supply required by §
62-3A or
B, a fine as set forth from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council to the Borough of Trafford for each day such offense continues.
B. For maintaining an automatic dialing device or system programmed to access a telephone number of the Department of Public Safety in violation of §
62-5A, a fine as set forth from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council to the Borough of Trafford for each time a signal is received from such device.
C. For false alarms as defined in §
62-2, which occur within any twelve-month period, the owner or lessee of the premises shall be subject to the following fines:
(1) First false alarm: no fine.
(2) Second false alarm: as set forth from time to time by
resolution of the Borough Council to the Borough of Trafford.
(3) Third false alarm: as set forth from time to time by
resolution of the Borough Council to the Borough of Trafford.
(4) Subsequent false alarms: as set forth from time to time
by resolution of the Borough Council to the Borough of Trafford.
If any section, paragraph, clause, phrase or provision of this chapter
shall be adjudged invalid or held unconstitutional, the same shall not affect
the validity of this chapter as a whole or any part or provision other than
the part so decided to be invalid or unconstitutional.
This chapter shall take effect January 1, 2001.