[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Cresskill 2-6-2002 by Ord. No. 02-37-1245. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide standards
and regulations for various types of intrusion, burglar, fire, smoke
and other emergency alarm devices, whether it be a dial alarm or a
local alarm.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to
any person who operates, maintains, or owns any dial alarm, local
alarm or direct line hook-up alarm to any alarm company, answering
service or police alarm board which is designed to summon the police,
Fire Department or other municipal agency to any location in response
to any type of alarm signal.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
words shall have the following meanings:
That type of device using telephone lines transmitting an
alarm directly through the police switchboard.
Any alarm that goes directly to any answering service.
Any alarm actuated by inadvertence, negligence, unintentional
act or accident by a resident or some other person authorized to be
in the house or building, or any alarm that is transmitted to the
Police Department which, when checked, shows no evidence in the house
or other alarmed building of any intruder having gained entry or having
attempted to gain entry, or no intruder inside the house or building.
These alarms shall be deemed to be a malfunction of the alarm device,
and such malfunction is also determined to be a false alarm.
Any alarm or device which, when activated, produces a visual
or noise signal and which is not connected by telephone line to the
police switchboard.
A two-way radio network which connects an alarm system to
the central monitoring station without wires.
A.
Permit.
(1)
No person may install or cause to be installed a dial
alarm or local alarm device without first making application to and
obtaining a written permit for the installation from the Chief of
Police.
B.
Registration. Any person who owns or operates a dial
alarm or local alarm shall make application for the continuance thereof,
in writing, to the Chief of Police on or before January 15 of each
year for a permit to run for the remainder of the year. The annual
permit fee shall be $30 per alarm. Any person who installs any alarm
after January 15 of any year shall be required to obtain a permit
for the balance of the year and the fee for such permit shall be $30.
The application shall contain the information requested, including
but not limited to the location of the device, the name and address
of the installer of the device, the type of device, provisions relating
to false alarms and testing procedures, a list of persons to be contacted
in the event of an alarm and other information as may be required
by the Chief of Police.
A.
Persons having either a dial or local alarm device
shall be required to leave with the Police Department the name of
a person or persons (with regular and cell phone numbers) who can
be reached in case of malfunction of the equipment in order that the
device can be temporarily disconnected.
B.
Persons having alarm devices which are being tested
or repaired shall notify the Police Department before tests or repairs
commence and after completion so as to avoid the possibility of activating
a false alarm.
C.
If access to the premises cannot otherwise be gained
within a thirty-minute period, then, at any time thereafter, any police
officer may enter any premises in order to deactivate any such alarm
by forced entry, if no other means are readily available, and in such
event neither the Chief of Police nor any police officer, nor the
Police Department, nor the Borough of Cresskill, nor any of its representatives,
shall be responsible to the property owner or any other person in
interest for any damage which may result from the forced entry, provided
that the means of said forced entry are reasonable and consistent
with the purpose of this provision.
D.
All alarms must have an automatic reset device with
a five-to-ten automatic shutoff and reset feature.
A.
Knowledge of false alarm; investigation. In any case
of a false alarm, any person having knowledge thereof shall immediately
notify the Police Department in the fastest possible manner. The Chief
of Police shall cause an investigation to be made of all false alarms
and keep a record of such alarms on file.
B.
Exception to charge. If any alarm comes in and the
officer on duty deems it to be caused by any storm, hurricane or severe
weather condition, power failure or power restoration or any type
of line malfunction, between the home, alarm receiving company or
Police Department, or any other similar occurrence, the alarm shall
be noted but not charged against the homeowner or business as a false
alarm.
For false alarms, the Mayor and Council prescribe
the following penalties:
A.
For the first through fifth false alarm in any given
calendar year, a warning shall be issued.
B.
For the sixth and seventh false alarm in the same
calendar year, a fine of $25 shall be paid to the Borough.
C.
For the eighth and any subsequent false alarms in
the same calendar year, a fine of $50 shall be paid to the Borough.
D.
After the eighth false alarm in any given calendar
year, the Mayor and Council reserve the right to require disconnection
of the device for a limited or permanent time. No permit shall be
revoked or suspended without giving the permittee a written opportunity
to show cause before the Mayor and Council at its next scheduled public
meeting why such action should not be taken.
E.
Any person not fully complying with any of the provisions
of this chapter shall be liable to pay a fine of not more than $500
payable to the Borough. Such fine and all other penalties may be recovered
in the Cresskill Municipal Court upon issuance of summons by the Cresskill
police returnable before the Cresskill Municipal Court and recoverable
in the same manner as a fine imposed for a violation of the Cresskill
Municipal Code.
A.
The Borough shall not be liable for any defects in
operation of any automatic dial alarms and alarm devices, or for any
failure or neglect to respond appropriately upon receipt of an alarm
from such a source, or for the failure or neglect of any person in
connection with the installation and operation of equipment, the transmission
of alarm signals or prerecorded alarm messages or the relaying of
such signals and messages, and, in the event that the Borough finds
it necessary to disconnect any alarm for any reason, the Borough shall
incur no liability by such action.
B.
If the location of police headquarters should be changed
at any time, the Borough shall not be responsible for any expense
incurred by the subscriber as a result thereof.
C.
The Borough shall assume no liability or responsibility
to correct defects in any equipment maintained by New Jersey Bell
Telephone Company or in any equipment installed on the subscriber's
premises.
A.
Copies of this chapter shall be provided to all persons
making application for a connection of an alarm device or registration
of a dial alarm or local alarm.
B.
The Borough Clerk shall record all charges paid pursuant
to this chapter and shall mail notices to persons who are more than
30 days in default of payment of any such charges.
The Borough reserves the right to change, modify
or increase by ordinance the fees herein prescribed or the penalties
herein prescribed.
The Mayor and Council may, from time to time,
promulgate rules and regulation supplementing this chapter in order
to provide for recordkeeping and efficient management of said system.
