[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
The
purpose of this Chapter is to encourage alarm users and alarm businesses
to maintain the operation reliability and properly use alarm systems
and to reduce or eliminate false alarm dispatch requests.
B.
This
Chapter governs systems intended to summon Police response, requires
permits, establishes fees, provides for fees of violations, establishes
a system of administration, and sets conditions for suspension or
loss of permits.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
The following words and phrases when used in this Chapter shall
have the meanings set out herein:
A person or persons designated by the Board of Aldermen of
Pleasant Valley, Missouri, to administer, control and review alarm
applications, permits and alarm dispatch requests.
Any person who is employed by an alarm business either directly
or indirectly, whose duties include any of the following: selling,
maintaining, testing, severing, repair, altering, replacing, moving
or installing in any building, structure or facility any alarm system,
excluding any person who installs an alarm system in a home where
that person personally resides.
The business by an individual, partnership, corporation or
other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing,
altering, replacing, moving, installing or monitoring an alarm system
in an alarm site.
A notification to the Police by the alarm business that an
alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular
alarm site.
Consists of members of the Board of Aldermen of the City
of Pleasant Valley, Missouri, as appointed by the Mayor of the City
of Pleasant Valley, Missouri.
Single premises or location served by an alarm system or
systems. Each tenancy, if serviced by a separate alarm system in a
multi-tenant building or complex, shall be considered a separate alarm
site.
Any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical device
or series of devices, including, but not limited to, systems interconnected
with wire or radio frequency signals, which are designed to discourage
crime by emitting or transmitting a remote or local audible, visual
or electronic signal indicating an alarm condition. Alarm system does
not include:
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or
other entity who (which) uses an alarm system at an alarm site.
The Chief of Police of the Pleasant Valley Police Department
or his authorized designee.
The transaction or process by which one (1) alarm business
begins monitoring of an alarm system previously monitored by another
alarm business.
An alarm signal eliciting a Police response when a situation
requiring an immediate response does not in fact exist, such as when
no breach of security has been attempted or committed. An alarm will
not be considered a false alarm if it is determined that the alarm
was caused by:
Natural or manmade catastrophe, or an act of God. Such events
include tornadoes, floods, earthquakes or other similar violent conditions.
Vandalism causing physical damage to the premises.
Telephone line outage.
Attempted entry of a location causing visible, physical or other
evidence of damage to the location, which has caused the alarm to
sound.
Severe weather causing physical damage to the premises.
The test of a local alarm system by a licensed alarm business
agent or employee who is present at the premises servicing, repairing
or installing the alarm.
An alarm dispatch request to the Police Department, when
the responding officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or
attempted criminal offense after having completed an investigation
of the alarm site. An alarm dispatch request that is canceled by the
alarm business or the alarm user prior to the time the responding
officer reaches the alarm site shall not be considered a false alarm
dispatch.
A silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation
of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
A device that allows control of an alarm system by the manual
entering of a coded sequence of numbers or letters.
The process by which an alarm business receives signals from
an alarm system and relays an alarm dispatch request to the Police
for the purpose of summoning Police response to the alarm site.
The manual activation of a silent alarm signal by entering
at a keypad a code that adds one (1) to the last digit of the normal
arm/disarm code (normal code = 1234, one plus duress code = 1235)
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization
or similar entity.
The transaction or process by which an alarm user takes over
control of an existing alarm system which was previously controlled
by another alarm user.
An attempt, by the alarm business or its representative,
to contact the alarm site by telephonic or other electronic means,
whether or not actual contact with a person is made, before requesting
a Police dispatch.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
No
alarm user shall operate, or cause to be operated, an alarm system
at its alarm site without a valid alarm permit issued by the alarm
administrator. A separate permit is required for each alarm site.
B.
The
annual fee for an initial permit or permit renewal for an alarm site
and the fee for each false alarm shall be determined and set by the
Board of Aldermen of Pleasant Valley, Missouri. No refund of an initial
permit or permit renewal fee will be made. The initial annual permit
fee must be submitted to the alarm administrator within fifteen (15)
days after the alarm installation or alarm takeover. No alarm system
will be responded to by the Police Department without a valid alarm
permit number provided by the alarm administrator at the time of application.
Permit renewal fees in each subsequent year shall be the annual fee
plus any additional fee for the third (3rd) and every subsequent false
alarm that occurred during the previous twelve (12) months.
C.
Upon
receipt of a completed application for and the permit fee, the alarm
administrator shall issue an alarm permit to an applicant unless the
applicant has:
D.
Each
permit application must include the following information:
1.
The name, address and telephone numbers of the person who will be
the permit holder and be responsible for the proper maintenance and
operation of the alarm system and payment of fees assessed under this
Chapter;
2.
The classification of the alarm site as either residential, commercial
or apartment;
3.
For each alarm system located at the alarm site, the purpose of the
alarm system, i.e., burglary, holdup, duress or other;
4.
Signed certification from the alarm user and the alarm business stating:
a.
The date of installation, conversion or takeover of the alarm system,
whichever is applicable;
b.
The name, address and phone number of the alarm business performing
the alarm system installation, conversion or alarm system takeover
and responsible for providing repair service to the alarm system;
c.
The name, address and phone number of the alarm business monitoring
the alarm system if different from the installing alarm business;
d.
That a set of written operating instructions for the alarm system,
including written guidelines on how to avoid false alarms, have been
left with the applicant; and
e.
That the alarm business has trained the applicant in proper use of
the alarm system, including instructions on how to avoid false alarms.
E.
Any
false statement of a material matter made by an applicant for the
purpose of obtaining an alarm permit shall be sufficient cause for
refusal to issue a permit.
F.
An
alarm permit cannot be transferred to another person. An alarm user
shall inform the alarm administrator of any change that alters any
information listed on the permit application within five (5) business
days.
G.
All
fees owed by an applicant must be paid before a permit may be issued
or renewed.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
If
an alarm system installed by an individual tenant in an apartment
complex unit is monitored, the tenant must provide the name of a representative
of the apartment owner or property manager who can grant access to
the apartment to the alarm business which is providing the monitoring
service.
B.
A tenant
of an apartment complex shall also obtain an alarm permit from the
alarm administrator before operating or causing the operation of an
alarm system in the tenant's residential unit. The annual fee for
this permit or the renewal of this permit shall be the same as the
fee for an alarm site.
C.
For
purposes of enforcing this Chapter against an individual residential
unit, the tenant is responsible for false alarm dispatches emitted
from the alarm system in the tenant's residential unit.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A permit shall expire one (1) year from the date of issuance
in accordance with a schedule established by the alarm administrator
and must be renewed annually by submitting an updated application
and an appropriate permit renewal fee to the alarm administrator.
It is the responsibility of the alarm user to submit an application
prior to the permit expiration date. Failure to renew will be classified
as use of a non-permitted alarm system and Police response will be
suspended until such time as the permit is renewed and all applicable
permit fees are paid. The alarm administrator will notify the alarm
user and the alarm business when an alarm permit is due for renewal.
Failure to be so notified shall not relieve the alarm user or alarm
business of the requirements to fully comply with the provisions of
this Chapter
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
An
alarm user shall:
1.
Maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner that will
minimize or eliminate false alarm dispatches; and
2.
Make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a representative
to respond to the alarm system's location within one (1) hour when
notified to deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access
to the premises, or to provide security for the premises; and
3.
Not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than an occurrence
of an event that the alarm system was intended to report.
B.
An
alarm user shall adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be
adjusted so that an alarm signal audible on the exterior of an alarm
site will sound for no longer than fifteen (15) minutes after being
activated.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
An
alarm business performing monitoring services shall:
1.
Report alarm signals by using telephone numbers designated by the
alarm administrator;
2.
Attempt to verify every alarm signal, except a duress or hold up
alarm activation, before requesting a Police response to an alarm
signal;
3.
Communicate alarm dispatch requests in a manner and form established
by the alarm administrator; and
4.
Communicate verified cancellations of alarm dispatch requests in
a manner and form established by the alarm administrator.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
The alarm business shall contact the alarm administrator in
a manner designated by the alarm administrator to obtain alarm permit
numbers to be recorded on the customers alarm permit application.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
An alarm user shall maintain at each alarm site a set of written
operating instructions for each alarm system.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
The
officer responding to an alarm dispatch request shall record such
information as necessary to permit the alarm administrator to maintain
records including, but not limited to, the following information:
1.
Identification of the permit number at the alarm site;
2.
Identification of the alarm site;
3.
Arrival time at the alarm site and dispatch received time;
4.
Date and time;
5.
Weather conditions;
6.
Area and/or subarea of premises involved;
7.
Name of alarm user's representative on premises, if any; and
8.
Identification of the responsible alarm business.
B.
The
responding Police Officer shall indicate on the dispatch records whether
the dispatch was caused by a criminal offense, an attempted criminal
offense, or was a false alarm dispatch.
C.
In
the case of an assumed false alarm dispatch, the responding Police
Officer shall leave notice at the alarm site that the Police Department
has responded to a false alarm dispatch. The notice shall include
the following information:
D.
Alarm
businesses which perform monitoring services must maintain, for a
period of at least one (1) year following request for Police dispatch
to an alarm site, records relating to the dispatch. Records must include
the name, address and phone number of the alarm user, the alarm system
zone(s) or point(s) activated, the time of request for Police dispatch
and evidence that an attempt to verify was made to the alarm site
prior to the request for Police dispatch. The alarm administrator
may have access to and copies of such records for individually named
alarm users.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
If there is reason to believe an alarm system is not being used
or maintained in a manner that ensures proper operation and suppresses
false alarms, the alarm administrator may require a conference with
an alarm user and the alarm business responsible for the repair of
the alarm system to review the circumstances of each false alarm.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
The alarm administrator shall oversee the creation and implementation
of a false alarm user awareness class. The class shall inform all
alarm users of the problems created by false alarm dispatches and
teach alarm users how to operate their alarm systems without generating
false alarm dispatch. The alarm administrator may require that alarm
users must attend a false alarm user awareness class after reaching
two (2) false alarm dispatches in a calendar year. The alarm administrator
shall set the class schedule and enrollment fees.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
An
alarm user may appeal assessment of a fee or the suspension or revocation
of a permit to the Alarm Review Board by filing a written request
for hearing setting forth the reasons for the appeal within ten (10)
days after being notified of the fee or other action. The filing of
a request for an appeal hearing with the Alarm Review Board stays
the assessment of the fee until the Alarm Review Board makes a final
decision.
B.
The
Alarm Review Board shall conduct a hearing and consider the evidence
of any interested person(s). The Board shall make its decision on
the basis of the preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing
including, but not limited to, evidence that a false alarm dispatch
request was caused by a criminal offense. The Board must render a
decision within thirty (30) days after the appeal hearing is held.
The Board shall affirm, reverse or modify the assessment of the fee
or the other action taken. The decision of the Board is final subject
only to the provisions of Section 536.140 of the Revised Statutes
of Missouri.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
The
alarm administrator may also suspend or revoke an alarm permit if
it is determined that:
B.
The
Chief may refuse Police response to an alarm dispatch request at an
alarm site for which the alarm permit is revoked.
C.
The
Chief may prioritize alarm dispatch requests and may temporarily refuse
Police response to an alarm dispatch request at an alarm site where
there is a valid permit based on other Police needs and demands in
the City.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
A.
A person
whose alarm permit has been revoked may be issued a new permit if
the person:
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
All fees collected under this Chapter shall go to the General
Fund of the City of Pleasant Valley, Missouri.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
All alarm users shall have permits required by this Chapter
within ninety (90) days of May 17, 1999, and shall renew said permits
as required by this Chapter in accordance with a schedule established
by the alarm administrator.
[Ord. No. 2068 §1, 5-17-1999]
Any person maintaining an alarm system in violation of this
Chapter upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than
one hundred dollars ($100.00).
