[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of New Windsor 2-7-2007
by L.L. No. 1-2007. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Automated Alarm System Law of the
Town of New Windsor."
The Police Department of the Town of New Windsor has reported to the
Town Board extraordinary numbers of false alarms emanating from automated
alarm systems. The false alarms unnecessarily require that our Police and
Volunteer Fire Departments respond in an emergency fashion to signals which
should not have been created. This deprives the citizens of this Town from
the sorely needed services of our emergency forces and exposes the police
and firemen to unnecessary hazards and risks. Therefore, it is the intent
of this chapter to reduce and minimize false alarms and other misleading or
confusing signals or procedures, to encourage the use of reliable systems
to facilitate the provision of emergency services to the public, and to provide
a mechanism whereby those responsible for the creation of false alarms are
dealt with in an appropriate fashion. This chapter is intended to serve the
foregoing purposes by regulating the use, repair and/or maintenance of police,
fire or medical emergency alarm devices in the Town of New Windsor and to
require conformity with the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations
promulgated hereunder.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
Any person, firm, corporation or business entity upon whose premises
an alarm device is installed or operating. For purposes of this chapter, the
alarm user is the person or entity in control or possession of the property
on or in which the alarm is installed.
Any police, fire or emergency medical alarm device or telephone attachment
that automatically or electronically transmits a signal to preselected telephone
lines connected to a central alarm station or police headquarters and reproduces
a prerecorded message to report a criminal act or other emergency requiring
police, fire or medical emergency response.
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases a system
of police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices, which facility is manned
by operators who receive, record or validate alarm signals to the Police Department
or Fire Department where appropriate.
Any alarm device which transmits a signal or impulse over a leased
telephone line to the alarm panel at police headquarters.
Any signal actuated by police, fire or medical emergency alarm device,
devices or system of police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices which
is not the result of natural disaster, act of God, a criminal act, fire or
other emergency resulting in police, fire or other emergency services response.
The term "false alarm" shall include human error and equipment malfunction
causing the alarm to be activated and which results in police or fire response.
Any device which, when activated by a criminal act, fire or other
emergency, transmits a prerecorded message or other signal by telephone, radio,
central alarm station or audible or visible signal designed to cause any person
within audible or visual range to notify the Police Department or Fire Department,
requiring its respective emergency response.
Anything which annoys, injures or endangers the comfort, repose,
health or safety of a significant number of persons of any community or neighborhood.
Any device which, when activated by fire or smoke or other emergency,
is designated to alert only the occupants of the building in which the smoke
and/or heat detectors are installed of said emergency.
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any automatic dial alarm
to be directly connected to the emergency telephone line of the Police Department
or the Fire Departments/Districts. Any such automatic dial alarm may be connected
to a central alarm station or other answering service for notification to
the appropriate service.
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any police, fire or medical
emergency alarm device to be connected to the Police Department. Any such
police, fire or medical emergency device may be connected to a central alarm
station or other answering service for notification to the appropriate service.
No person shall install, cause to be installed, maintain or cause to
be maintained in a structure, building or establishment in the Town of New
Windsor an external audible police, fire or medical emergency alarm device
which does not also contain an automatic cutoff system or feature automatically
cutting off the source of power to the alarm-sounding device after it has
sounded for a period of not longer than 15 minutes.
A.
Upon receiving complaints regarding a continuous, uninterrupted
or continuously recurring signal, the Police Department shall endeavor to
contact the alarm user or those persons designated by the alarm user as contacts
in an effort to abate the nuisance. In the event the Police Department is
unable to contact the alarm user or those designated as contacts or if the
aforesaid person cannot or will not curtail the audible signal being emitted
by the alarm system, the Police Department may direct a police officer, fire
fighter or a qualified alarm technician to enter upon the property outside
the home or building in which the alarm system is located and take any reasonable
action necessary to abate the nuisance.
B.
After an entry upon the property has been made in accordance
with this section, the Police Department shall have the property secured,
if necessary. The reasonable costs and expenses of abating a nuisance in accordance
with this section may be assessed to the alarm user.
Under no circumstances shall the cost of any police, fire or medical
emergency alarm device, devices or system of police, fire or medical emergency
alarm devices and the maintenance of the same be charged to the Town of New
Windsor, its Police Department or Fire Department operating within the Town.
The alarm user, owner or lessee of such police, fire or medical emergency
alarm device shall be solely responsible for the service of his or her police,
fire or medical emergency alarm devices and/or correcting any malfunction
of the same that may occur.
The Chief of Police of the Town of New Windsor shall maintain a record
of all false alarms, enter them upon the police blotter and maintain them
as police records in the regular course of business. The Fire Chiefs of the
fire districts servicing the Town of New Windsor, including but not limited
to New Windsor (Quassaick Fire Company), Vails Gate, Salisbury Mills, Washingtonville,
Maybrook and Coldenham, shall also maintain, in the regular course of business,
a record of false alarms received in their respective departments.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any alarm user to install or
maintain an alarm system in violation of any part of this chapter.
B.
It shall be further unlawful for any alarm user to permit
a false alarm in violation of any part of this chapter.
C.
Offenses and fines.
(1)
Any alarm user having a police, fire or medical emergency
alarm device in violation of this chapter, or who causes a false alarm in
violation of this chapter, shall be subject to the following fines payable
to the Town Court cumulatively during any calendar year:
(2)
A separate offense shall be deemed committed for each
false alarm requiring a response by police, fire or emergency medical personnel
and/or for each day any alarm user permits any alarm device to remain in violation
of this chapter.
All police, fire and medical emergency device fines and false alarm
charges shall be collected by the Town Court.
A.
None of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices installed in Town-owned buildings, motor vehicles or trailers or to smoke and/or heat detectors, as defined in § 86-3 of this chapter.
B.
The Town of New Windsor shall take every reasonable precaution
that alarm signals received by the Town are given appropriate and immediate
attention. Nevertheless, the Town shall not be liable for any defects in operation
of any police, fire or medical emergency alarm devices, for any failure to
respond appropriately on any alarm signal or for the transmission of alarm
signals or messages or the relaying of such signals or messages. In the event
that the Town orders the disconnection or removal of a police, fire or medical
emergency alarm device or system of police, fire or medical emergency alarm
devices pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the Town shall incur no
liability therefrom.
Any code officer or police officer shall have the power, right and authority to issue an appearance ticket as defined and authorized in § 150 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the State of New York and §§ 5-1 through 5-4 in the Town Code of the Town of New Windsor for the violation of any section of this chapter.
