[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Wyckoff 8-3-1982 by Ord. No. 875. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 34.
Police Department — See Ch. 54.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 115.
Noise — See Ch. 143.
A. 
Findings and declarations. The Township Committee does hereby find and declare that:
(1) 
The occupants of numerous residential, commercial and industrial establishments in the Township of Wyckoff have found it desirable to make provision for the installation upon their premises, at their own cost and expense, of alarm systems for emergencies such as burglary, intrusion, fire, smoke, flood and like perils.
(2) 
There is a growing number of private enterprises that have embarked upon the business of selling or leasing such alarm systems, entering into contract with such occupants for the installation, operation and maintenance of such alarm systems and providing, either individually or in concert with other private business enterprises similarly engaged, for the connection of the individual alarm systems so installed by them to an alarm device.
[Amended 4-4-1995 by Ord. No. 1219]
(3) 
The proliferation of the number of private enterprises engaged in the alarm business, each with its own system and equipment, has resulted in conditions that, if not remedied, will lead to an unnecessary drain on the manpower, time, space, facilities and finances of the Township of Wyckoff and its public safety departments and agencies, a deterioration of the quality of service to persons subscribing to alarm services and inequities among the various private enterprises engaged in the alarm business in the Township of Wyckoff.
(4) 
The public interest, therefore, requires the enactment of rules, regulations, standards and procedures to regulate and control the private alarm business in the Township of Wyckoff to the end that:
(a) 
The municipal departments and agencies charged with the protection of public safety may efficiently and economically coordinate their functions with the various alarm services to which the public of the Township of Wyckoff may subscribe.
(b) 
The quality of the alarm services rendered to the public may be improved and maintained at a high level.
(c) 
The private alarm enterprises retained by occupants of buildings in the Township of Wyckoff may perform fairly, under rules that are equitable and impartially applicable to all such enterprises.
B. 
Scope. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to any person who operates, maintains or owns any alarm device or local alarm designed to summon the police, Fire Department or other municipal agencies to any location in response to any type of alarm signal. The terms of this chapter shall in no way prohibit alarm companies from providing service by private source to other offices within or without the Township so long as the activity is not connected to an alarm console at police headquarters; except, however, that any person having a premises protected by a local alarm shall still be responsible for the registration thereof in accordance with § 79-8.
[Amended 4-4-1995 by Ord. No. 1219]
As used in this chapter, the hereinafter-defined words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
ALARM CONSOLE
[Repealed 4-4-1995 by Ord. No. 1219]
ALARM DEVICE
Any mechanism designed to actuate an alarm.
[Amended 4-4-1995 by Ord. No. 1219]
ALARM SYSTEM
The installation in one or more buildings of one or more alarm devices or local alarms for the express purpose of giving visual or audible warning, or both, of an emergency such as burglary, intrusion, fire, smoke, flood or like perils.
AUDIBLE ALARM
An alarm system which when actuated emits a sound which can be heard beyond the boundaries of the premises on which it is located.
DIAL ALARM
An alarm device that employs an automatic dialing system precoded to connect with the special telephone in police headquarters rather than to the alarm console.
FALSE ALARM
Any alarm device or dial alarm actuated by inadvertence, negligence or unintentional act of someone other than an intruder, and shall include alarms caused by malfunctioning of the alarm device, dial alarm or other relevant equipment, but shall not include alarms created by malfunction of the alarm console.
LICENSEE
The person who holds the license to install, operate and maintain the alarm console pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
LOCAL ALARM
Any mechanism that constitutes, in whole or in part, an alarm system that is not connected with and is not designed to actuate the alarm console or automatic dial system.
OCCUPANT
A person in possession of premises in or upon which an alarm system exists.
PERMITTEE
A person holding a permit to install, operate or maintain an alarm system that employs an alarm device.
A. 
No dial alarm shall be permitted unless it shall first have been:
(1) 
Registered with the Chief of Police as hereinafter required.
(2) 
Approved by the Chief of Police after approval thereof by the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company and the performance of a test alarm conducted by or on behalf of the applicant.
B. 
All dial alarms shall be coded to dial a special separate number which shall be provided by the Chief of Police. No dial alarm shall be coded to dial the number of the general police switchboard of the Township of Wyckoff.
C. 
All dial alarms shall be coded as well to notify a relative, neighbor or other third party who shall be named in the registration required by this chapter.
D. 
All dial alarms shall be coded as well to notify one second party who shall be named in the registration required by this chapter.
E. 
The owner of each dial alarm system shall pay to the Township of Wyckoff an annual fee of $15 to cover the cost of registration and testing and to amortize the cost of the special telephone line or lines required in police headquarters along with ancillary tape devices necessitated by these systems.
[Amended 6-21-1994 by Ord. No. 1206; 4-4-1995 by Ord. No. 1219]
F. 
Owners of dial alarms shall be governed by the false alarm procedures and penalties set forth in this chapter.
G. 
If any person has a dial alarm in existence at the time of the passage of this chapter, he shall have 30 days in which to reprogram the equipment to comply with the terms of this chapter and in which to pay the annual fee. Any person failing to comply herewith shall be liable for a fee payable to the Township of Wyckoff in the amount of $50.
H. 
If any dial alarm shall hereafter be found to be dialing the general police headquarters number rather than the special telephone number reserved for dial alarms, the occupant of the building or other person in whose name the telephone is listed shall be sent a notice in writing by the Chief of Police requiring compliance with the terms of this chapter. If the occupant or telephone subscriber shall fail within 30 days after receipt of said notice to comply, he shall be liable for a fee payable to the Township of Wyckoff in the amount of $50 for each subsequent call to the general police headquarters number.
I. 
The contents of any recorded message from a dial alarm must be intelligible and in a format approved by the Chief of Police. No such message shall be transmitted more than two times as a result of a single stimulus of the mechanism.
J. 
The sensory mechanism of dial alarms shall be adjusted so as to suppress false indications and not to be actuated by impulses due to pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light, wind, noises, rattling or vibration of doors or windows or other forces unrelated to general alarms.
K. 
All components of dial alarms shall be maintained by the owner in good repair. When evidence exists that there has been failure to comply with the operational requirements of this chapter, the Chief of Police is then authorized to demand that such device be disconnected until such time as compliance with such requirements is reestablished.
No person shall install, operate or maintain any alarm system, including a local alarm, unless the alarm system or local alarm has been registered with the Chief of Police as follows:
A. 
The alarm system of each permittee shall be deemed registered at such time as the permit therefor is issued.
B. 
An alarm system employing the dial alarm shall be deemed registered when the annual dial alarm fee is remitted to the Township and the system has been approved by the Chief of Police.
C. 
A local alarm system shall be deemed registered when the occupant of the building in which it is installed shall have filed with the Chief of Police a registration form which shall include, among other data, the location of the device, the name of the installer of said device, the type of device, provisions relating to false alarms and testing procedures, a list of persons to be contacted in the event of an alarm and other information as may be required by the Chief.
All alarm systems which are capable of producing an audible signal shall be equipped with a time relay or battery designed to limit the sounding of the alarm to 10 minutes or less, with an automatic reset mechanism. In addition, when audible alarms are registered, the application must include an authorization for the Wyckoff Police Department and Fire Department to take whatever steps are necessary to shut off an audible alarm where said alarm has been sounding for more than 10 minutes. This authorization includes the right to enter premises where the permittee is not present and an alarm is sounding.
A. 
In the case of a false alarm, any person having knowledge thereof shall immediately notify the Police Department. In addition, in the case of false alarms, the Chief of Police shall cause an investigation to be made and keep a record of all false alarms. For false alarms, the Township Committee prescribes the following additional service charges, which shall be levied as follows:
[Amended 4-3-1984 by Ord. No. 923; 6-21-1994 by Ord. No. 1206; 6-21-2011 by Ord. No. 1653]
(1) 
False alarms in all zones:
[Amended 2-21-2012 by Ord. No. 1677]
(a) 
For the first, second and third false alarm in any given calendar year, a warning shall be given.
(b) 
In any calendar year, there shall be a service fee for false alarms subsequent to the third such false alarm as follows:
[1] 
Fourth: $50;
[2] 
Fifth: $100;
[3] 
Sixth: $150;
[4] 
Seventh: $250;
[5] 
Eighth: $300;
[6] 
Ninth: $400;
[7] 
Tenth: $500; and
[8] 
For every false alarm thereafter: $950.
B. 
Where, in the event of a false alarm, the permittee or its agent or representative notifies the Wyckoff Police Department within 60 seconds of the actuation of the alarm console or 60 seconds after the automatic dialing of the special police number or prior to the dispatch of police personnel to the premises, the permittee shall not be credited with a false alarm for the purpose of determining fines or penalties under this section.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, pertaining to disconnection from the alarm console, was repealed 4-4-1995 by Ord. No. 1219. This ordinance also provided for the relettering of former Subsection C as B.
Any unauthorized equipment may be disconnected by the Chief of Police or his designated representative for noncompliance with this chapter, any person installing or maintaining unauthorized equipment shall be prosecuted for violation of this chapter, and each and every day the equipment is in operation shall be considered a separate violation. Any permittee shall, by acceptance of the permit, be deemed as having consented to inspection of the premises on which the alarm devices are installed at reasonable hours by the Chief of Police or his designated representative.
The Chief of Police may from time to time promulgate written rules and regulations supplementing this chapter in order to provide for recordkeeping and efficient management of the system; provided that the Township Committee shall first approve the rules or any changes thereto by appropriate resolution.
A. 
All service fees or other fees required to be paid in accordance with the terms of this chapter shall be paid within 10 days from the date they are due, and in the case of service fees for false alarms, they shall be paid within 10 days from the receipt of notification from the Township.
B. 
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.
[Amended 6-19-1984 by Ord. No. 927]
C. 
In the event that fees, service fees, fines or other charges levied in accordance with the terms of this chapter are not paid when due, the Township may direct that the alarm system or dial alarm be disconnected, and in the event that, after notification from the Township, the alarm system or dial alarm remains connected, the person, firm or corporation owning the property on which said alarm is located shall be subject to the penalties provided for in Subsection B.