As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ALARM ADMINISTRATOR
The person designated by the Maple Shade Police Department
to administer control and review false alarm reduction efforts, provide
public reports regarding alarm response statistics and administer
the provisions of this chapter.
ALARM INSTALLATION COMPANY
A person in the business of selling, providing, maintaining,
servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing an
alarm system in an alarm site.
ALARM NOTIFICATION
A timely verbal report to the Maple Shade Police that an
alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular
alarm site.
ALARM REGISTRATION
Authorization in accordance with this chapter granted by
the alarm administrator to an alarm user to operate and maintain an
alarm system.
ALARM SITE
A single fixed premises or location served by an alarm system
or systems. Each unit, if served by a separate alarm system in a multiunit
building or complex, shall be considered a separate alarm site.
ALARM SYSTEM
A device or series of devices, including, but not limited
to, hardwired systems and systems interconnected with a radio frequency
method such as cellular or private radio signals, which emit or transmit
a remote or local audible, visual or electronic signal indicating
an alarm condition and intended to summon law enforcement or fire
response, including local alarm systems. The term "alarm system" does
not include an alarm installed in a vehicle or on someone's person
unless the vehicle or the personal alarm is permanently located at
a site.
ALARM USER
Any person who has contracted for monitoring, repair, installation
or maintenance service from an alarm installation company or monitoring
company for an alarm system, or who owns or operates an alarm system
which is not monitored, maintained or repaired under contract.
ARMING STATION
A manually operated device that allows control of an alarm
system.
AUTOMATIC VOICE DIALER
Any electrical, electronic, mechanical or other device capable
of being programmed to send a prerecorded voice message, when activated,
over a telephone line, radio or other communication system, to law
enforcement, public safety or an emergency services agency requesting
dispatch.
CANCELLATION
Notification given to the Maple Shade Police Department by
a monitoring company (designated by the alarm user) subsequent to
an alarm notification for the alarm site that there is no emergency
at the alarm site requiring a law enforcement officer's or firefighter's
response.
CONVERSION
The transaction or process by which one alarm installation
company or monitoring company begins the servicing and/or monitoring
of a previously unmonitored alarm system or an alarm system previously
serviced and/or maintained by another alarm company.
DURESS ALARM
A silent alarm system signal generated by the entry of a
designated code into an arming station in order to signal that the
alarm user is being forced to turn off the system, the safety of the
alarm user is threatened and protection of a sworn officer or firefighter
is required.
FALSE ALARM
An alarm dispatch request forwarded to the Maple Shade Police
Department for response, when the responding officer finds no evidence
of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense after having completed
a timely investigation of the alarm site and there is no indication
that an abnormal weather condition or other severe event could have
caused the generation of an alarm.
HOLDUP ALARM
A silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation
of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
LICENSE
A license issued by the State of New Jersey to an alarm installation
company or monitoring company to sell, install, monitor, repair or
replace alarm systems.
LOCAL ALARM SYSTEM
Any alarm system which is not monitored and which annunciates
an alarm condition only at or near the alarm site.
MONITORING
The process by which a monitoring company receives alarm
signals and other alarm system condition signals from alarm systems
and relays alarm notifications to the Maple Shade Police Department
and to other emergency response agencies.
ONE-PLUS DURESS ALARM
The manual activation of a silent alarm by entering at an
arming station a code that adds one to the last digit of the normal
arm/disarm code (e.g., normal code = 1234: one-plus duress code =
1235).
PANIC ALARM
An audible alarm system signal generated by the manual activation
of the device intended to signal a personal safety or other emergency
situation requiring the response of a law enforcement officer.
PERSON
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization
or similar entity.
RESPONDER
An individual capable of reaching the alarm site within 30
minutes and having access to the alarm site, the operating codes for
the alarm system and the authority to approve repairs to the alarm
system.
SIA CONTROL PANEL STANDARD CP-01
The American National Standard Institute (ANSI) approved
Security Industry Association (SIA) CP-01 Control Panel Standard,
as may be updated from time to time, that details recommended design
features for security system control panels and their associated arming
and disarming devices to reduce the incidence of false alarms. Control
panels built and tested to this standard by Underwriters Laboratory
(UL), or other nationally recognized testing organizations, will be
marked to state: "Design evaluated in accordance with SIA CP-01 Control
Panel Standard Features for false alarm Reduction."
SUSPENSION OF RESPONSE
The termination of police response to alarms at a specified
alarm site as a result of false alarms or other violations of this
chapter.
TAKEOVER
The transaction or process by which an alarm user assumes
or acquires ownership of an existing alarm system which was previously
owned by another alarm user.
VERIFY
An attempt by a monitoring company, 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 valid before requesting law
enforcement dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm
dispatch request. For the purpose of this chapter, 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 determine whether an alarm signal is valid
before requesting official dispatch.
ZONE
A division of devices into which an alarm system is divided
to indicate the general location from which an alarm system signal
is transmitted.
An alarm registration shall expire at the end of the calendar
year and must be renewed annually by submitting an updated application
and a registration renewal fee to the alarm administrator. It is the
responsibility of the alarm user to submit a registration form before
the expiration date. Failure to renew will be classified as use of
a nonregistered alarm system, and penalties may be assessed in accordance
with this chapter. A late fee of $25 may be assessed if the renewal
is more than 30 days late.
Every alarm installation company and every monitoring company
serving customers in Maple Shade Township shall maintain any and all
licenses required by the State of New Jersey.
The alarm administrator shall notify the alarm user in writing
after each false alarm. The notification shall include the amount
of the fee for the false alarm and a description of the appeals procedure
available to the alarm user.
Unless otherwise provided within any section of this chapter, any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to the penalty provided in Chapter
1, Article
II, herein.
In the interest of public safety, all information contained
in and gathered through the alarm registration applications and applications
for appeals shall be held in confidence by all employees or representatives
of the Township and by any third-party administrator or employees
of a third-party administrator with access to such information.
Alarm registration is not intended, nor shall it be construed,
to create any contract, duty or obligation on the part of the Township
of Maple Shade, either expressed or implied, to respond to any alarm.
The Township shall not be liable for any losses or damages, including
consequential damages, resulting from the Township's failure
to respond to a notification, and the Township expressly retains all
governmental immunities provided by law. By applying for an alarm
registration, an alarm user acknowledges that the Township's
ability to respond to an alarm may be influenced by various factors
such as the availability of officers or firefighters, priority of
calls, weather conditions, traffic conditions, emergency conditions,
staffing levels and prior response history.
The provisions of this chapter are severable. If a court determines
that any word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection, section
or other provision of this chapter is invalid, the remaining provisions
of this chapter and the application of those provisions to other persons
or circumstances are not affected by that decision.