This chapter shall be known as the "Alarm Ordinance."
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ALARM BUSINESS
The business by any individual, partnership, corporation
or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing,
altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing
to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, moved
or installed any alarm system in or on any building, structure or
facility.
ALARM SYSTEM
An assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged
to signal the occurrence of an illegal entry or other activity requiring
urgent attention and to which the police are expected to respond.
ALARM USER
The person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind in control of premises wherein
an alarm system is maintained.
FALSE ALARM
An emergency alarm activated by inadvertence, negligence
or unintentional acts to which the Police or Fire Department responds,
including malfunction of the alarm system. The definition excludes
alarms caused by malfunctions of the indicator at the police station;
malfunction, testing or repairing of telephone equipment or lines;
acts of God, such as earthquakes, floods, windstorms, thunder or lightning;
an attempted illegal entry of which there is visible evidence; the
user acting under a sincere belief that a need exists to call the
Police or Fire Department; a call to police canceling the alarm by
giving the proper identification number prior to arrival of the Police
or Fire Department. If a doubt exists as to the cause of a false alarm,
the Chief of Police shall resolve it in favor of the alarm user. Multiple
alarms received by the Borough of Newfield Police or Fire Department
before the system can be deactivated within a reasonable period of
time shall be considered a single alarm.
All alarm users shall obtain an alarm user's permit for each
premises from the Chief of Police of the Borough of Newfield upon
the effective date of this chapter or prior to use of an alarm system.
Application for the alarm user's permit will be filed with the Chief
of Police. Each permit shall bear the signature of the Chief of Police.
The permit shall be physically upon the premises using the alarm system
and shall be available for inspection by the Chief of Police or officers
in the Borough of Newfield Police Department.
In the event that the Borough of Newfield Police Department records five false alarms within a permit year for an alarm system, the Chief of Police shall notify the alarm user in writing that seven or more false alarms within the permit year shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and shall subject the user to penalties as set forth in §
65-7, Violations and penalties.
Any alarm user or alarm business who or which
shall be found to have violated any of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding
$2,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, and/or a period
of community service not exceeding 90 days. The violation of more
than one section of this chapter shall constitute separate offenses
and shall be prosecuted accordingly. Any such fine or imprisonment
shall be in the discretion of the local Municipal Judge before whom
such alarm user is convicted.