Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in
this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection,
except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
ALARM ADMINISTRATOR
A person or persons designated by the City of New Castle
to administer, control and review false alarm reduction efforts and
administer the provisions of this section.
ALARM DISPATCH REQUEST
A notification to a law enforcement authority that an alarm,
either manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular alarm
site.
ALARM INSTALLATION COMPANY
A person in the business of selling, providing, maintaining,
servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing an
alarm system at an alarm site.
ALARM REGISTRATION
Authorization granted by the alarm administrator to an alarm
user to operate 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 authority
response, including local alarm systems. "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 or which has contracted for monitoring, repair,
installation or maintenance service from an alarm installation company
or monitoring company for an alarm system, or who or which owns or
operates an alarm system which is not monitored, maintained or repaired
under contract.
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 a law
enforcement authority, public safety or emergency services agency
requesting dispatch.
CANCELLATION
The process where response is terminated when a monitoring
company (designated by the alarm user) for the alarm site notifies
the responding law enforcement agency that there is not an existing
situation at the alarm site requiring law enforcement authority response
after an alarm dispatch request.
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 monitored 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 and requires law
enforcement authority response.
FALSE ALARM
An alarm dispatch request to a law enforcement authority,
when no emergency or actual or threatened criminal activity requiring
immediate response exists. This definition includes signals activated
by negligence, accident, mechanical failure, and electrical failure;
signals activated intentionally in nonemergency situations; and signals
for which the actual cause of activation is unknown. There is a rebuttable
presumption that an alarm is false if personnel responding from a
law enforcement authority do not discover any evidence of unauthorized
entry, criminal activity, or other emergency after following normal
police procedures in investigating the incident. An alarm is not false
if the alarm user proves that:
(1)
An individual activated the alarm based upon a reasonable belief
that an emergency or actual or threatened criminal activity requiring
immediate response existed;
(2)
The alarm system was activated by lightning or an electrical
surge that caused physical damage to the system; or
(3)
If the alarm user experienced a power outage of four or more
hours, causing the alarm to activate upon restoration of power, as
evidenced by written documentation provided by Delmarva Power, the
Municipal Services Corporation or other applicable provider.
HOLDUP ALARM
A silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation
of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY
Any authorized representative of a law enforcement agency,
including but not limited to the New Castle City Police Department.
LOCAL ALARM SYSTEM
Any alarm system, which is not monitored, that sounds an
alarm only at the alarm site.
MONITORING
The process by which a monitoring company receives signals
from an alarm system and relays an alarm dispatch request to a law
enforcement agency for the purpose of summoning law enforcement to
the alarm site.
ONE PLUS DURESS ALARM
The manual activation of a silent alarm signal 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 a device intended to signal a life threatening or emergency situation
requiring law enforcement authority response.
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 code to the alarm
system, and the authority to approve repairs to the alarm system.
SIA CONTROL PANEL STANDARD CP-01
The ANSI - American National Standard Institute 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."
TAKEOVER
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.
VERIFY
An attempt by the monitoring company, or its representative,
to contact the alarm site by telephonic 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.
ZONES
Division of devices into which an alarm system is divided
to indicate the general location from which an alarm system signal
is transmitted.