[Adopted 3-25-1991[1] (Ch. 8, Art. I of the 1971 Code)]
The purpose of this article is to establish standards and controls of
the various types of intrusion, holdup and other emergency signals from alarm
devices that require police response, investigation and safeguarding of property
at the location of an event reported by and/or signal-transmitted, telephoned,
radioed and otherwise relayed to the police by an alarm device or by any person
acting in response to a signal actuated by an alarm device.
The Council hereby declares that the legislative intent of this article
is to apply its provisions to any business, firm, corporation or other commercial
entity that is in the business of owning, operating, maintaining or installing
an alarm device or devices or a dial alarm device or devices designed to summon
the police to any location in response to a signal or other transmission generated
or produced by such devices.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any device which, when activated by a criminal act or other emergency,
transmits a prerecorded message or other signal by telephone, radio, central
alarm station or audible or visible signal designed to cause any person within
audible or visual range to notify the Police Department requiring its emergency
response.
Any police alarm device or aggregation of police alarm devices installed
on or within a single building or on or within more than one building or area
adjacently located on a common site, at a specific location.
The written authorization of the City of Middletown granted to any
person to engage in the business of installing and/or servicing police or
medical emergency alarm devices in the City of Middletown pursuant to the
provisions of the Code of the City of Middletown.
Any person, business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity
which is in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing, leasing
or selling a police or medical emergency alarm device or devices, which person,
business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity is, as owner, operator,
provider of maintenance service, installer, lessor or seller of said device,
devices or system of devices, licensed pursuant to the requirement of the
Code of the City of Middletown.
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases a system
of police alarm devices, which facility is manned at all times by trained
operators employed to receive, record and validate alarm signals and to relay
information about such validated signals to the police radio dispatch room
when appropriate.
Any police alarm device which is a telephone device or telephone
attachment that automatically or electronically selects a telephone line connected
to a central alarm station and reproduces a prerecorded message to report
a criminal act or other emergency requiring police response.
Any police alarm device connected directly by leased telephone wires
from a specific location to the police radio dispatch room.
Any device which transmits a signal to or otherwise communicates with,
causes communication to or with or initiates communication to or with the
Police Department of the City of Middletown ("Police Department") or any such
device which causes an audible signal to be emitted to the exterior of the
premises wherein such device is installed.
Such term shall not include, however, any such device installed in premises
owned or controlled by any governmental agency, school district or municipality
and shall not include any such device installed in a motor vehicle as that
term is defined in the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York.
A signal emitted by an emergency alarm, which signal results in an actual
communication to or with the Police Department, which communication incorrectly
indicates that there is or has been a burglary, intrusion or other emergency
at a premises in the City of Middletown.
A "false alarm" does not include signals emitted by an alarm caused
by or as a result of circumstances such as storms or acts of God beyond the
control of the licensee or where the system is shown to be in correct working
order and not activated as a result of abuse, neglect, inattention, human
error or equipment malfunction.
Any police alarm device actuated by a holdup robbery at a specific
location or actuated by a victim of a holdup robbery at a specific location.
Any entry into an area or building equipped with one or more police
alarm devices by any person or object whose entry actuates a police alarm
device.
The police radio dispatch room and other enclosures housing privately
or publicly owned equipment serving the police radio dispatch room.
A.Â
It shall be unlawful to operate, maintain, install, lease
or sell an alarm device without a license. It shall be unlawful for any person,
business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity to operate, maintain,
install, lease or sell a police alarm device or devices or system of police
alarm devices, as defined by the terms of this article, without first obtaining
a license as hereinafter provided.
B.Â
Authority to grant licenses and permits.
(1)Â
The Police Chief is hereby authorized to grant a revocable
alarm license to any business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity,
authorizing said business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity to
do business in the City of Middletown by performing any or all of the following
functions: to own, operate, maintain, install, lease or sell an alarm device
or devices or systems of police alarm devices.
(2)Â
All presently existing alarm devices and systems or police
alarm devices and present owners and lessees of premises having such devices
or systems must comply with all provisions of this article by such date as
shall be fixed by resolution of the City of Middletown.
All businesses, firms, corporations or other commercial entities which
are in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing, leasing
or selling a police alarm device or devices or system of police alarm devices
which desire to conduct business in the City of Middletown shall apply to
the Police Chief for a business license on a form to be supplied by the Police
Department of Middletown. The application may contain specific provisions
relating to the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the device or system
of devices owned or to be operated, maintained, installed, leased or sold
by the business licensee, testing procedures involved and any other information
that the Police Chief shall determine to be reasonably necessary to effectuate
the purpose of this article. It shall also contain an affirmative representation
by the applicant that he has diligently investigated all employees, consultants
and agents connected with his business and, to his knowledge, they have no
prior criminal convictions for a felony or misdemeanor. In addition, it shall
contain the name, address and policy number for a fidelity bond of at least
$5,000 covering any of his employees or servants. Such business license shall
be issued for a one-year period, on a calendar-year basis or a part thereof,
and no license shall extend beyond December 31 of each year. Notwithstanding
this provision, a person having a business license may conduct such business
through January 31 of the year following the expiration of his business license.
Prior to the issuance of any permit or license, the applicant will furnish
satisfactory proof of a fidelity bond of at least $5,000 fully paid for the
time the license or permit will be valid and which policy will be to protect
homeowners from criminal or illegal acts of licensee's employees or servants.
License fees for a business licensee shall be $75 per year without proration
and such other amounts as shall be fixed from time to time by resolution of
the Common Council of Middletown.
A license issued under this article may be suspended or revoked by the
Police Chief after notice and hearing by the Police Chief for the violation
of any of the provisions of this article or of any regulation or regulations
promulgated by the Police Chief pursuant to this article, and any license
or identification card issued hereunder shall be refunded when a license is
suspended or revoked. Any applicant whose application for a license or permit
has been denied or any business license alarm agent, owner or lessee whose
license has been suspended or revoked by the Police Chief may appeal such
denial, suspension or revocation, in writing, to the Common Council within
30 days after the date of denial or of the notice of suspension or revocation
and may appear before such Common Council at a time and place to be determined
by the Common Council in support of his or its contention that the license
should not have been denied, suspended or revoked. The decision of the Common
Council of Middletown shall be final.
Every business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity conducting
the business of owning, operating, installing, leasing or selling police alarm
devices within the City of Middletown shall maintain complete and accurate
records of all installations of alarm systems in the City of Middletown and
shall produce such records for inspection by the Police Chief or his agent
upon demand.
A.Â
Limitation. No police alarm device which transmits a
prerecorded message or other signal directly to the police communication facilities
shall be connected to or use a public primary telephone trunk line of the
City.
B.Â
Change of location. If the location of the police communication
facilities should be changed at any time, licensees under this article shall
not attempt to charge the City of Middletown with any resulting cost of moving
alarm systems or any parts thereof.
C.Â
Installation and maintenance costs. All costs and recurring
charges incurred in the installation and maintenance of systems permitted
by this article in police communication facilities shall be borne by the licensee.
D.Â
Rules and regulations. The Chief of Police may promulgate
reasonable rules and regulations that may reasonably be necessary for the
purposes of assuring the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of police alarm
devices, holdup alarms, dial alarms and alarm installations owned, operated,
maintained, installed or sold by a permittee under this article and of administering
and enforcing the provisions of this article.
A.Â
Central alarm station systems. The Chief of Police is
hereby authorized to prescribe the location and the manner of installation
of a private or a regular business telephone line installed in the police
radio dispatch room from a central alarm station for the express purpose of
providing direct telephone communication between a licensee and the Police
Department for use to report a police alarm. Any cost shall be solely borne
by licensee.
B.Â
Direct alarm systems. The Chief of Police is hereby authorized
to prescribe the location and the manner of installation of all connections
and equipment, cabinets and accessories of an approved direct alarm system
within the police communication facilities for the purpose of providing a
direct alarm system, where the visible and audible signals therefor may be
readily seen and heard by police personnel.
C.Â
The Chief of Police is hereby authorized to determine
whether space for dial alarm systems is available within the police communication
facilities.
D.Â
All holders of alarm devices and medical alarms and any
other alarms may be required to provide written authorization to the Police
Department to forcibly enter the premises for the purpose of verifying the
validity of the emergency condition.
A.Â
Each and every alarm device, holdup alarm, direct alarm,
dial alarm and emergency alarm in the City of Middletown shall be properly
maintained.
B.Â
The installation and maintenance of police alarm devices
shall be at no cost to the City.
C.Â
Any false alarm to which the Police Department responds
shall be attributable to the owner or lessee of the property activating the
alarm.
No person shall install or maintain in any building, structure or establishment
in the City of Middletown an external audible alarm of any type which does
not also contain an automatic cutoff system to automatically cut off the source
of power to the alarm after if it has sounded for a period of 15 minutes.
It shall be required that a minimum of three names to contact shall be provided
to the police for the purpose of securing or restoring said alarm system when
necessary.
The City of Middletown shall not be liable for any defects in the operation
of emergency alarm systems nor for any failure to respond appropriately nor
for any erroneous response nor for the failure or defect of any licensee pursuant
to the provisions of this article with respect to the installation, operation
or maintenance of equipment, the transmission of alarm signals or messages
or the relaying of such signals or messages.
It shall be the obligation of any alarm license holder to provide the
Police Department with a minimum of three persons to be contacted with the
authority to enter the premises for the purpose of securing and restoring
said alarm system, when necessary.
Willful violations of any provisions of this article shall constitute
an offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $50 for each
day that the violation shall continue.
