[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Wrentham
as Art. 5.10, Secs. 4 and 10, of the 2013 Bylaws. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
For the purpose of this bylaw, the following words and phrases
shall have the following meanings:
Any assembly of equipment and/or devices that is designed
to be activated either manually or automatically for the purpose of
drawing attention to the presence of a hazard or situation, criminal
or otherwise, to which the police are expected to respond.
Any person or business on whose premises an alarm system
is installed and maintained within the Town of Wrentham, except for
alarm systems that are installed in or on motor vehicles.
The activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure,
malfunction, improper installation or negligence of the user of the
alarm system or his or her employees or agents and any signal or communication
of fact when there has been no unauthorized entry or intrusion into
the premises and there has been no attempted robbery or burglary at
the premises. Excluded from this definition shall be the activation
of an alarm system by power outages, utility companies or other outside
sources, hurricanes, severe storms and similar conditions.
[Amended 6-8-2015 ATM
by Art. 34]
All alarm systems that emit an audible signal shall be equipped with a device for limiting the length of the audible signal to 10 minutes. Any user of an alarm system that either does not have such a device or has a malfunction that allows the audible signal to continue for more than 10 minutes shall be assessed a fine in the amount specified in Chapter 283, Fees, Fines and Charges, § 283-2. Failure to pay such fine within 45 days of the billing date will result in either court action for a violation of a Town bylaw or the placement of a municipal charges lien on the real property pursuant to MGL c. 40, § 58 in the Norfolk Registry of Deeds until the fine is paid.
A.
Every alarm system user shall submit to the Chief of Police the names
and telephone numbers of at least two persons who are authorized to
respond to an emergency transmitted by the alarm system, and who can
open the premises wherein the alarm system is installed.
B.
Any alarm system emitting a continuous and uninterrupted signal for more than 20 minutes which cannot be shut off or otherwise curtailed due to the absence or unavailability of the alarm user or those persons designated under Subsection A of this section which disturbs the peace, comfort, or repose of a community, a neighborhood, or a number of the inhabitants of the area where the alarm system is located shall constitute a public nuisance.
C.
Upon receiving complaint of such a continuous and uninterrupted signal, the Chief of Police, or his designee, shall endeavor to contact the alarm user or members of the alarm user's family or those persons designated by the alarm user under Subsection A in an effort to abate the nuisance. If such efforts do not result in the silencing of the alarm within 30 minutes of its activation, the Police Chief, or his designee, may, at the expense of the owner, order the alarm's deactivation using whatever means may be appropriate to the occasion.
D.
The Police Chief shall cause to be recorded the names and addresses
of all complainants, and the time of each complaint.
[Added 2-9-1998]
Any officer of the Wrentham Police Department shall have the
power to enforce the provisions of this bylaw. Any person who violates
any provision of this bylaw shall be subject to a penalty of $100
unless a particular fine is specified for such violation. Any officer
taking cognizance of a violation of any provision of this article,
as an alternative to initiating criminal proceedings, may give to
the offender a written notice to appear before the Clerk of the Wrentham
District Court at any time during office hours, not later than 21
days after the date of such notice. Such notice shall be served in
the form and manner prescribed by MGL c. 40, § 21D, and
shall be subject to the procedure for disposition set forth therein.
