A.
Registration required. No person shall use an alarm system without
first registering such alarm system with the Manalapan Township Police
Department. The registration period shall be one year. A fee is required
for the registration permit and for each annual renewal. Each alarm
system requires a separate registration. Each alarm shall be assigned
a unique registration number, and the user may be required to provide
the registration number along with the address to facilitate law enforcement
dispatch.
B.
Registration fee. The fee for an alarm registration and each annual
alarm renewal is set forth below and shall be paid by the alarm user.
No refund of a fee or renewal fee will be made. The initial alarm
fee must be submitted to the Alarm Administrator within 20 days after
the alarm system installation or alarm system takeover.
(1)
Initial registration fee: $40 ($25 for an alarm system registered
on or before December 31, 2016).
(2)
Annual registration renewal fee: $25.
(3)
New residents registering within six months of closing (initial registration
fee): $25.
(4)
New residents registering more than six months after closing (initial
registration fee): $40.
C.
Application. The registration shall be requested on an application
form provided by the Manalapan Township Police Department. An alarm
user has the duty to obtain an application from the Police Department
or its designated vendor.
D.
Transfer of possession. When the possession of the premises at which
an alarm system is maintained is transferred, the person (user) obtaining
possession of the property shall file an application for an alarm
within 30 days of obtaining possession of the property. Alarm permits
are not transferable.
E.
Reporting updated information. Whenever the information provided
on the alarm application changes, the alarm user shall provide corrected
information to the Manalapan Township Police Department within 30
days of the change. The alarm user or registered owner shall update
this information when any of the requested information has changed;
failure to comply will constitute a violation and will result in a
civil penalty for not being registered.
F.
Multiple alarm systems. If an alarm user has one or more alarm systems
protecting two or more separate structures having different addresses
and/or tenants, a separate registration shall be required for each
structure and/or tenant.
An alarm user shall:
A.
Maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner that will
reduce or eliminate false alarms.
B.
Provide the alarm company the permit number in order to facilitate
dispatch.
C.
Respond or cause a representative to respond to the alarm system's
location within a reasonable amount of time when notified by the alarm
monitoring company or Monmouth County Communications.
D.
Not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than an occurrence
of an event that the alarm system was intended to report.
E.
Obtain a new permit and pay any associated fees if there is a change
in address or ownership of a business or residence.
A.
Any alarm company in the alarm business in Manalapan Township, shall
comply with the following:
(1)
Obtain and maintain all required state, county and municipal license(s).
(2)
Provide the name, address, and telephone number of each alarm user
or a designee, who can be called in an emergency, 24 hours a day and
contact a key holder or other emergency contact who will respond immediately.
(3)
Provide the most current contact information for each alarm user.
(4)
Provide the above information to the alarm administrator within 90
days of the enactment of this chapter and update this information
within 30 days for any new or discontinued alarm system.
B.
Ninety days after enactment of this chapter, any alarm companies
shall, on all new and upgraded installations, use only alarm control
panel(s) which meet SIA Control Panel Standard CP-01.
C.
Prior to activation of an alarm system, the alarm company shall provide
instructions explaining the proper operation of the alarm system to
the alarm user.
D.
Provide written information to the alarm user of how to obtain service
from the alarm company for the alarm system.
E.
An alarm company performing monitoring services shall:
(1)
Attempt to verify, by calling the alarm site and/or alarm user by
telephone, whether an alarm signal is valid before requesting dispatch.
Telephone verification shall require, as a minimum, that a second
call be made to a different number, if the first attempt fails to
reach an alarm user who can properly identify themselves to attempt
to determine whether an alarm signal is valid, except in the case
of a panic or robbery-in-progress alarm, or in cases where a crime-in-progress
has been verified by video and/or audible means.
(2)
Provide address and alarm user registration number, when available,
to the communications center to facilitate dispatch and/or cancellations.
(3)
Communicate any available information about the location of the alarm.
(4)
Communicate a cancellation to the law enforcement communications
center as soon as possible following a determination that response
is unnecessary.
A.
It shall be unlawful to activate an alarm system for the purpose
of summoning law enforcement when no burglary, robbery, or other crime
dangerous to life or property is being committed or attempted on the
premises, or otherwise to cause a false alarm.
B.
It shall be unlawful to install, maintain, or use an audible alarm
system which can sound continually for more than 15 minutes.
C.
It shall be unlawful to install, maintain, or use an automatic dial
protection device that reports, or causes to be reported, any recorded
message to the Manalapan Township Police Department, its agents and
contractors or to Monmouth County Communications.
A.
Excessive false alarms/failure to register. An alarm user shall be
subject to service fees, depending on the number of false alarms within
any twelve-month period based upon the following schedule:
(1)
First or second false alarm: no service fee and a warning notice
to be issued after the second false alarm.
(2)
Third false alarm: $40; this fee may be waived upon satisfactory
completion of an alarm user online awareness class, provided by the
alarm contractor.
(3)
Fourth false alarm: $80.
(4)
Fifth false alarm: $130.
(5)
Sixth false alarm: $180.
(6)
Seventh or more false alarm(s): $250 for each alarm.
(7)
Robbery, panic and burglary crime in progress false alarm service
fees:
(a)
First or second false alarm: No service fee and a warning notice
to be issued after the second false alarm.
(b)
Third false alarm: $150; this fee may be waived upon satisfactory
completion of an alarm user online awareness class provided by the
alarm contractor.
(c)
Fourth false alarm: $150 for each false alarm beginning with
the fourth false alarm.
B.
In addition, any person operating an unregistered alarm system will
be subject to a service fee of $100 for each false alarm incurred
without a permit in addition to any other applicable fees or fines.
C.
An alarm user may have the option of completing an alarm user online
awareness class in lieu of paying the first prescribed service fee
(third false alarm) under this section. This option is available only
once during the one-year registration period. The option to have the
first service fee waived shall be offered for each consecutive alarm
user renewal period. The alarm user must complete the offered online
alarm class within 30 days of the third false alarm. The false alarm
count will not be changed.
D.
If cancellation of an alarm dispatch request occurs prior to a police
officer arriving at the scene, no false alarm will be assessed.
E.
If any fee or fine assessed on this section is not paid within 30
days after a notice or invoice is mailed, a late fee in the amount
of 30% of the value of the fee or fine shall be imposed.
F.
Violations will be enforced through the assessment of civil penalty(ies)
in the amount of $100 per violation.
G.
Civil penalty(ies) shall be paid within 30 days from the date of
invoice. Late fees shall apply after 30 days. Unpaid fees after 90
days may also be transferred to collections with the addition of collection
costs to the extent permitted by law.
The Manalapan Township alarm contractor shall create and implement
an online alarm user awareness class. The class shall inform alarm
users of the problems created by false alarms and instruct alarm users
how to help reduce false alarms.
In the interest of public safety, all information contained
in and gathered through the alarm registration applications, no-response
records and any other alarm records shall be held in confidence by
all employees and/or representatives of Manalapan Township.
Alarm registration is not intended to, nor will it, create a
contract, duty or obligation, either expressed or implied, of 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 applying for an alarm
registration, the alarm user acknowledges that the Manalapan Township
Police Department response may be influenced by factors such as the
availability of police units; priority of calls; weather conditions;
traffic conditions; emergency conditions; staffing; and prior response
history.
