Borough of Dover, PA Chapter 89 Emergency Services Response

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Dover as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Excessive Calls to 911 Communications Center

[Adopted 4-4-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-1]

§ 89-1 Prohibited calls; official warning.

Upon any emergency services response initiated by a 911 Communications Center call that is suspiciously terminated, where the caller had no reasonable basis upon which to assert that emergency services were required, the responding police officer shall notify and inform the phone subscriber of the existence of this article and the fees imposed herein. This notification shall constitute an official warning to the phone subscriber of the existence of this article and the fees imposed herein.

§ 89-2 Fees.

There is hereby imposed a fee of $25 for any emergency services response initiated by a 911 Communications Center call that is suspiciously terminated, where the caller had no reasonable basis upon which to assert that emergency services were required and the phone subscriber had received an official warning as identified in § 89-1. For the fourth such instance in any calendar year, the fee imposed shall be $30; for the fifth such instance in any calendar year, the fee shall be $50; and for the sixth and each succeeding instance in any calendar year, the fee shall be $100. The fee may be imposed upon either the caller or the individual listed at the telephone number from which the call originated.

§ 89-3 Calls initiated from commercial properties.

If any emergency services response is initiated by a call to the 911 Communications Center that is suspiciously terminated, where the caller had no reasonable basis upon which to assert that emergency services were required and the call was initiated from a commercial property, then the operator of that commercial property shall be responsible for the fees provided for in § 89-2.

§ 89-4 Tracking responses to commercial properties.

For purposes of calculating the number of 911 Communications Center calls identified in § 89-3, the number of times any emergency services respond to a particular commercial property shall be totaled and utilized, regardless of the individual caller(s) or originating phone number(s).

§ 89-5 Authorization for enforcement.

The Northern York Regional Police Department is authorized and directed to fully enforce this article.