The vast majority of emergency alarms to which members of the
Police Department respond are false alarms. Such alarms are often
the result of improper maintenance, faulty equipment, or improper
or careless use of an alarm system. In the interest of protecting
health, life, and property, and preserving the order and security
of the County and its inhabitants by using law enforcement resources
effectively and efficiently, the number of false alarms from business
and residential premises must be reduced. The purpose of this Article
is to reduce the danger and annoyance associated with false alarms
and to encourage business and residential owners to use and maintain
their alarm systems properly.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
As used in this Article, unless the context requires otherwise:
"Activation"
of an alarm system means the emission of an audible or silent
alarm or signal generated by an alarm system, including the transmission
of a message by means of an automatic telephone dialer.
"Alarm system"
means any single device or assembly of equipment designed
to signal the occurrence of an emergency, including illegal entry
or other activity requiring immediate attention, to which the Police
Department is expected to respond or does respond, and that emits
an audible alarm or transmits a signal or message, including a telephonic
message, when activated. The term does not include alarms installed
in motor vehicles or fire alarms.
"Alarm user"
means any person owning or leasing an alarm system, or on
whose premises an alarm system is maintained.
"Common cause"
means a common technical difficulty or malfunction which
causes an alarm system to generate a series of false alarms.
"Emergency"
means: (1) an unauthorized entry or attempted unauthorized
entry into a building, place, or premises, excluding any motor vehicle;
or (2) the commission of a crime.
"False alarm"
means any alarm activation that is communicated to an emergency
service but that is not in response to an actual or threatened criminal
act or violation.
"Notice"
means written notice, served personally or mailed, addressed
to the person to be notified at the person's last known address. Service
of such notice shall be deemed effected upon completion of personal
service or upon deposit of such notice in the United States mail.
"Person"
means an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, limited
liability company, association, organization, or similar entity, but
excludes any agency of the United States, the State of Hawai'i, or
the County of Kaua'i.
"Service charge"
means a charge assessed to a permit holder to offset the
County's cost of responding to a false alarm as set forth in this
Code.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
(a) Permit
Required. No person shall use an alarm system which is designed to
elicit, either directly or indirectly, a police response, without
first obtaining a permit for such alarm system from the Alarm System
Coordinator.
(b) Permit Issuance. The permit shall be requested on an application prescribed by the Chief of Police or designee. An alarm user shall obtain the application from the Alarm System Coordinator, provide the information requested on the application, and file the application, together with the applicable fee, with the Alarm System Coordinator. Upon receipt of a completed application and the fee prescribed in Subsection
(e), the Alarm System Coordinator shall issue a permit to the alarm user. Permits shall be valid for one (1) year from the date of issue and shall be renewable on an annual basis. It shall be the duty of the permit holder to renew the permit annually prior to expiration of the permit. The permit holder shall complete a renewal form as prescribed by the Alarm System Coordinator and return it, together with the renewal fee, to the Alarm System Coordinator, who shall renew the permit upon receipt of the application and renewal fee. If the permit holder fails to renew the permit prior to its expiration, the permit holder must apply for a new permit and pay the fee for a new permit.
(c) Transfer
of Possession of Premises; Nontransferability of Permit. When possession
of the premises with an alarm system is transferred, the person obtaining
possession of the premises shall apply for a permit within thirty
(30) days of obtaining possession of the premises. Alarm user permits
are not transferable.
(d) Reporting
Updated Information. Whenever the contact information provided by
the applicant on the permit application changes, the correct information
shall be provided by the permit holder to the Alarm System Coordinator
within thirty (30) days of the change. Failure to provide correct
information to the Alarm System Coordinator within thirty (30) days
of the change may result in revocation of the permit.
(e) Fees.
The fee for a permit shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00). The fee
for permit renewal shall be ten dollars ($10.00).
(f) Confidentiality.
Completed applications and permits shall be for recordkeeping purposes
only and shall be held confidential to the extent provided for by
State and/or Federal law.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
If an alarm user has one (1) or more alarm systems protecting
two (2) or more separate structures having different addresses, a
separate permit shall be required for each such structure.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
(a) Police
Response. Whenever an alarm system is activated which results in a
response by the Police Department, the responding Police Officer shall
inspect the area and determine whether an actual or threatened criminal
act or violation existed at the time of the system's activation, and
if not, determine whether the alarm was a false alarm.
(b) Notification.
If the Police Officer at the scene of the activated alarm system determines
the alarm to be false, the Police Officer shall make a report of the
false alarm. The permit holder or, if there is no permit, the owner
of the premises as appearing in the tax rolls of the County, shall
be notified in writing, by the Alarm System Coordinator, of each false
alarm determination. Notice shall be made personally, by mail, or
by posting in a prominent location at the premises where the false
alarm occurred.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
(a) The
Alarm System Coordinator shall, upon request from a permit holder,
review the determination by a responding Police Officer that an alarm
was false. The review shall be conducted by the Alarm System Coordinator
only if the permit holder requests the review in writing within ten
(10) days of the date on which the false alarm determination was mailed
to or received by the permit holder. The written request for review
of a false alarm determination shall include the following information:
(1) The permit holder's name and mailing address;
(2) Address of the premises at which the alarm system is installed;
(3) The date of the alarm being contested;
(4) The permit number for the alarm system; and
(5) The basis for the request for review.
(b) The
Alarm System Coordinator shall make a determination on the permit
holder's request for review and shall, within seven (7) days thereafter,
mail written notice of the Coordinator's determination to the permit
holder at the address supplied in the request for review.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
(a) A
charge assessed pursuant to this Section shall be considered an obligation
owed by the permit holder to the County of Kaua'i and shall be payable
within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the assessment
notice.
(b) A
permit holder who installs a new alarm system or reinstalls an alarm
system shall not be subject to a false alarm determination for a period
of thirty (30) days from the date of issuance of the permit. An alarm
user who obtains a permit for an alarm system already in operation
on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this Article shall
not be subject to a false alarm determination for the thirty (30)
day period immediately following issuance of the permit.
(c) A
series of false alarms generated by an alarm system, for which a permit
has been issued under this Article, as a result of a common cause
within any forty-eight (48) hour period shall be considered a single
occurrence of a false alarm, provided that:
(1) Repairs to the alarm system to eliminate the common cause are made
before the alarm system generates additional false alarms after the
forty-eight (48) hour period;
(2) The alarm user provides documentation of the repairs to the Alarm
System Coordinator; and
(3) No additional false alarms are generated as a result of the common
cause within the thirty (30) day period immediately following the
completion of repairs.
(d) A
service charge shall not be assessed for the first or second false
alarms activated from any premises within a twelve (12) month period
immediately following issuance of a new permit. The third false alarm
and all false alarms thereafter activated from any premises shall
cause the permit holder to be assessed a service charge of one hundred
fifty dollars ($150.00) per occurrence.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
New Permit Fee
|
$25.00
|
Renewal Fee
|
$10.00
|
Service Charge—1st and 2nd False Alarm
|
$0.00
|
Service Charge—3rd False Alarm (and subsequent)
|
$150.00
|
Operation of a Non-Registered Alarm System
|
$100.00
|
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
Persons operating an alarm system without obtaining a permit
shall be assessed a service charge of one hundred dollars ($100.00)
for each false alarm incident.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
All moneys collected from fees, charges and fines required by
this Article shall be deposited in a special account in the general
fund and shall be used for the administration and enforcement of this
Article.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
No later than thirty (30) days following the first and second
anniversary of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this
Article, the Chief of Police shall submit to the Council and the County
Clerk a report of the Police Department's activities under this Article,
which shall include at least the following:
(a) A
breakdown of general fund and special account resources assigned to
or expended on the administration of this Article;
(b) An
accounting of the number of permits issued;
(c) An
accounting of the number of false alarms by category (first, second,
third, etc.; residential or commercial, etc.);
(d) An
accounting of the number of false alarm determinations appealed and
reviewed, and the disposition of those reviews;
(e) An
accounting of the permit fees received;
(f) An
accounting of the service charges assessed and paid; and
(g) An
accounting of the number of violations/citations for failure to obtain
a required permit.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)
The following language shall be included on all permit application
and renewal forms:
Alarm Registration is not intended to, nor will it, create a
contract, duty or obligation, either expressed or implied, of response.
Any and all liability and consequential damage resulting from the
failure to respond to a notification is hereby disclaimed and governmental
immunity as provided by law is retained. By applying for an Alarm
Permit, the Permit Holder acknowledges that law enforcement response
may be influenced by factors such as: the availability of police units,
priority of calls, weather conditions, traffic conditions, emergency
conditions, staffing levels, and prior response history.
(Ord. No. 931, August 8,
2012)