This chapter shall be known as "The West Whiteland
Township Automatic Protection Device Ordinance."
The following definitions shall apply to the
interpretation and enforcement of this chapter:
ANSWERING SERVICE
A service whereby trained employees, in attendance at all
times, receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic dialing devices
reporting an emergency at a state location, where such employees have
the duty to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency message
over a trunk line to the communications center of the Police or Fire
Department.
AUDIBLE ALARM
Any device, bell, horn or siren, which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible
outside the building and designed to attract attention when activated
by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police or firemen to
respond.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
A device which is interconnected to a telephone line and
is programmed to transmit a signal by a prerecorded voice alarm or
message that indicates that an emergency condition exists and the
need for an emergency response is required.
AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE
An electrically or battery operated instrument 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 Department or Fire Department
Radio Network, upon receipt of a stimulus from a sensory apparatus
that has detected a physical force or condition inherently characteristic
of intrusion or fire.
AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE SUPPLIER
The business by an individual, partnership, corporation or
other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing,
altering, replacing, moving, monitoring, installing any alarm system
or causing any alarm system to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced,
repaired, altered, replaced, moved, installed or monitored in or on
any building, structure or other facility.
CENTRAL STATION
A protective system or group of such systems operated privately
for customers by a person, firm or corporation which accepts recorded
messages from automatic dialing devices at a central station having
operators and guards in attendance at all times who have the duty
to take appropriate action upon receipt of a signal or message, including
the relaying of messages to the communication center of the Police
or Fire Department.
CCDES
The administrative head of the West Whiteland Township Police
Department or the administrative head of the Fire Department, as appropriate.
[Amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 361]
CHIEF
The administrative head of the West Whiteland Township Police
Department or the administrative head of the Fire Department, as appropriate.
[Amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 361]
COORDINATOR
An individual/designee named by and accountable directly
and solely to the Chief.
[Amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 361]
FALSE ALARM
[Amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 361]
A.
Any signal activated by an automatic protection
device, any audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect
signal given to the Police or Fire Department to which the Police
Department or the Fire Department responds, which is not the result
of a burglary, fire, robbery, medical, weather-related, power outage
or similar emergency. If doubt exists as to the cause of the false
alarm, the Chief or his designee shall have and make the final decision
regarding the circumstances of the activation.
B.
Multiple alarms received by the Police Department
before the system can be deactivated within a reasonable period of
time shall be considered a single alarm.
C.
The definition of a false alarm(s) also includes
the intentional activation of a holdup alarm for other than a holdup
in progress, the intentional activation of a burglary alarm for other
than a burglary, the activation of a medical alarm for other than
a medical emergency or the intentional activation of a fire alarm
for other than a fire or hazard.
FALSE ALARM FEE
A fee for service in a monetary amount necessary to compensate
the Township and/or the Fire Department for the actual personnel and
administrative costs, on average, incurred by the Township and/or
the Fire Department in responding to false alarms, set by resolution
of the Township Board of Supervisors from time to time.
[Added 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 324; amended 11-25-2008 by Ord. No.
361]
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Any fire department, ambulance or rescue unit providing services
within West Whiteland Township.
INTERMEDIARY
A central station protective system or answering service
as herein defined.
INSTALLERS/SUPPLIERS PERMIT
Written permission, duly granted to an applicant by the Township upon full compliance with §
91-4 of this chapter and payment of the required annual fees of $75.
KEY
To use a telephone or recording equipment to transmit a message
either directly or indirectly by an automatic protection device.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of West Whiteland, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
TRUNK LINE
A telephone line leading into the communications centers
of the Police and Fire Departments that is for the purpose of handling
calls on a person-to-person basis and which is identified by a specific
listing among the white pages in the telephone directory issued by
the telephone company.
VERIFIED/VERIFIED RESPONSE
An attempt by a central station, or its representative, to
contact the alarm site and/or alarm user by telephone and/or other
electronic means, whether or not actual contact with a person is made,
to determine whether an alarm signal is as a result of an actual emergency
before requesting law enforcement or emergency personnel dispatch,
in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request. For
the purpose of this chapter, telephone or electronic verification
shall require, at a minimum, that a second telephone call or electronic
contact be made to a different number if the first attempt fails to
reach an alarm user who can properly identify himself and verify whether
an alarm signal is a valid emergency alarm prior to notification of
an alarm to CCDES.
[Added 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 324]
Each alarm supplier/installer who, after the
effective date of this chapter, sells or leases in the Township an
alarm system shall furnish clearly written and easily understood operating
instructions and a manual of operations to the buyer or lessee.
For the purpose of enforcing this chapter, and
as a condition to installing and maintaining an automatic protection
device, or the continuance of the use of any alarm system already
installed at the effective date of this chapter, the owner, lessee
or user thereof, by virtue of application for permit for the installation
of an alarm system and subsequent installation of such shall have
executed a consent which authorizes the Chief of Police, coordinator
or Township Fire Marshal to enter upon a lessee's, user's, or owner's
premises within the Township, at such reasonable times and upon reasonable
notice, except in emergency situations, to inspect the installation
and operation of an automatic protection device.
No person shall conduct any tests or demonstration
of any automatic protection device without first notifying the West
Whiteland Township Police Department and the CCDES.
Automatic protection device suppliers and installers
shall, at their own expense, furnish at or prior to the time of installation,
a copy of this chapter, to owners, lessees, users of the equipment
or services to be supplied.
[Amended 11-9-1999 by Ord. No. 284; 10-26-2004 by Ord. No.
324; 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 361]
A. For the purposes of fully compensating the Township
and/or the Fire Department for the cost of responding to false alarms,
the owner, lessee or user of any alarm system, persons using the service
of an intermediary, users of audible alarms, and users of any other
kind of direct or indirect connection with the CCDES shall, as a condition
to installation and continued operation of such equipment or service,
pay the Township and/or the Fire Department a false alarm fee for
each false alarm. The Chief shall determine whether an alarm is a
false alarm and invoice the permit holder of the alarm system for
the false alarm fee. The false alarm fee shall be payable within 30
days of the date of the invoice.
B. False alarm fees provided for false alarms that are
relayed or transmitted by an intermediary shall be the responsibility
of such owner, lessee or user of the alarm system.
C. Any police officer, fireman, or emergency personnel
responding to an alarm which is determined to be false shall promptly
notify the Chief or his designee of such alarm in writing, and shall
(if practical) leave notification of such false alarm at the scene
of the alarm.
D. By submitting an application for permit for the installation
of a burglary, fire, medical or other emergency alarm system and subsequent
installation of such a system or by the continuation of the use of
an alarm system already installed at the effective date of this chapter,
the owner, lessee, or user thereof shall agree that such permit application
constitutes a waiver by such person of the right to bring or file
any action, claim or complaint whatsoever against any police officer,
fireman or emergency personnel who make a forced entry in response
to such an alarm into the premises on which such an alarm is installed,
as a result of entry into the subject premises. In the event the owner
of such premises is a person other than the permit applicant, as in
the instance of a lessee or other user not the owner of the premises
on which the alarm is installed, such permit application shall constitute
an indemnification agreement by the applicant to hold harmless any
such police officer, fireman or emergency personnel, the Township,
the Police Department and the Fire Department, as appropriate, from
any and all damages whatsoever claimed by the lessor or owner of the
premises on which the alarm is installed.
E. Any property which has four or more false alarms within
a calendar year, other than a holdup, panic or duress alarm, shall
be subject to verified response.
(1) The Chief or his designee shall notify the alarm user,
property owner and the alarm supplier providing the service to the
user/property by first-class, postage-prepaid, certified mail, that
the property has been placed on verified response.
(2) An alarm user and/or property owner shall immediately implement verified response for the alarm system and property upon being notified of the verified response order as set forth in Subsection
E(1) above. If the alarm user and/or property owner do not comply immediately with the verified response order, the property shall be disconnected from the system by the user and/or owner. If disconnection of the defective device is not accomplished promptly, the Township may take any steps necessary to disconnect the defective automatic protection device.
(3) A permit holder/property owner who has been placed
on verified response may make written application to the Chief to
remove the property from verified response anytime 60 days after being
placed on verified response. The application shall include a fee in
an amount as determined by the Board of Supervisors by resolution
from time to time. The application shall include a certification from
a licensed alarm supplier describing the reason for the malfunction
causing false alarms, that the defect in the alarm system has been
repaired and that the alarm system is free of defects which will cause
false alarms. If the Chief is satisfied with the representations in
the certification, he may remove the alarm system and property from
verified response for a six-month probationary period. If no false
alarms occur within the probationary period, the alarm system and
property shall be removed from verified response. If a false alarm
occurs within the probationary period, the property shall be placed
on permanent verified response.
(4) If no application as set forth in Subsection
E(3) above is submitted, or the Chief determines that the action taken or to be taken will not substantially reduce the likelihood of false alarms, the Chief shall give notice by first-class, postage prepaid, certified mail, to the user that the alarm system and property shall be placed on permanent verified response.
F. Appeals to have a false alarm activation removed from
a permit holder's record may be made to the Chief or his designee.
The appeal must be submitted in writing substantiating the cause of
the false alarm and what has been done to prevent future false alarms.
The Chief, or his designee, at his discretion, may remove a false
alarm activation from a permit holder's record, if it is believed
that this course of action is justifiable.
[Amended 6-10-1997 by Ord. No. 257; 10-26-2004 by Ord. No.
324; 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 361]
A. Within 30 days after invoice by the Chief or coordinator, the owner, lessee or user of the property shall pay the fees as stated in §
91-14. Failure to make the required payment within the allocated time period shall require the owner, lessee, or user to institute and be placed on verified response for the property for a period of six months from the date of notification as provided in §
91-14E(1). Failure to make the required payment within the allocated time period will cause the institution of assumpsit proceedings before the District Magistrate, or a court of competent jurisdiction, for the collection of the amount owed and costs. Such fees and costs shall be collectible as like debts are now by law collectible.
B. Any person who violates or commits the violation of
any provision of this chapter or who willfully falsely activates an
alarm system shall be subject to a fine in the amount of at least
$150, but not to exceed $1,000, plus all court costs, including reasonable
attorney fees incurred by the Township. Upon a finding of liability
for committing said violation, permitting said violation or willfully
falsely activating an alarm system, in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by the Township, the defendant shall pay the fine, plus
all court costs, including attorney fees. No judgment shall be imposed
until the date of determination of a violation by a District Magistrate.
If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the
Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules
of Civil Procedure.