In this chapter:
ALARM ADMINISTRATOR
A Person or Persons designated by the governing authority
to administer, control and review False Alarm reduction efforts. Unless
otherwise provided by the City Administrator, the Alarm Administrator
shall be the Chief of Police or his/her designee.
ALARM COMPANY
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.
ALARM DISPATCH REQUEST
A notification to a law enforcement agency that an alarm,
either manual or automatic has been activated at a particular Alarm
Site.
ALARM REGISTRATION
A permit issued by the Alarm Administrator to an Alarm Company
or an Alarm User to operate an Alarm System in compliance with this
chapter.
ALARM SITE
A single fixed premises or location served by an Alarm System
or systems. Each tenancy, if served by a separate Alarm System in
a multi-tenant building or complex shall be considered a separate
Alarm Site.
ALARM SYSTEM
A device or series of devices, including, but not limited
to, 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 service of the municipality,
including Local Alarm System. Alarm System does not include an alarm
installed on a vehicle or Person unless the vehicle or Personal alarm
is permanently located at a site.
ALARM USER
Any Person who (which) uses or is in control of any Alarm
System at its Alarm Site.
AUTOMATIC VOICE DIALER
Any 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 agency.
CANCELLATION or RESPONDING AGENCY ALARM DISPATCH CANCELLATION
The process by which an Alarm Company providing Monitoring
verifies with the Alarm User or responsible party that a false dispatch
has occurred and that there is not an existing situation at the Alarm
Site requiring law enforcement agency response.
CITY
The City of Hyattsville.
CONVERSION
The transaction or process by which one Alarm Company begins
monitoring of a previously unmonitored Alarm System or an Alarm System
previously monitored by another Alarm Company.
DURESS ALARM
A silent Alarm System signal generated by the manual activation
of a device intended to signal a life threatening situation or a crime
in progress requiring law enforcement response.
FALSE ALARM
An Alarm Dispatch Request to a law enforcement agency, 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.
HOLDUP ALARM
A silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation
of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY
The Chief of Police or his other designees or an authorized
representative of the City of Hyattsville.
LICENSE
A License issued to an Alarm Company to sell, install, monitor,
repair, or replace Alarm Systems by the City or any authority having
jurisdiction.
LOCAL ALARM SYSTEM
Any Alarm System that annunciates an alarm only by an internal
or external audio device without connection to an external agency.
MONITORING
The process by which an Alarm Company receives signals from
an Alarm System and relays an Alarm Dispatch Request to the municipality
for the purpose of summoning Law Enforcement response to the Alarm
Site.
ONE PLUS DURESS ALARM
The manual activation of a silent alarm signal by entering
at a Keypad a code that adds one to the last digit of the normal arm/disarm
code (Normal code = 1234; One Plus Duress Code = 1235).
PANIC
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 response.
PERSON
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization
or similar entity.
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 Alarm 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, before requesting
law enforcement dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary Alarm
Dispatch Request.
ZONES
Subdivisions into which an alarm system is divided to indicate
the general location from which an Alarm System signal is transmitted.
Enforcement of this ordinance may be by civil action instituted
by the Alarm Administrator, and/or by municipal infraction, as provided
above in Subsection 8.
Information contained in registration application and applications
for appeals shall be held in confidence by all employees or representatives
of the municipality and by any third-party administrator or employees
of a third-party administrator with access to such information.
Severability is intended throughout and within the provisions
of this Ordinance. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase
or portion of this Ordinance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional
by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that decision shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance.