It shall be the duty and responsibility of the
Millville Police Department to enforce the provisions of this article
as herein provided.
The Millville Police Department shall have those
powers and duties which are necessary to carry out the intent and
purpose of these regulations including, but not limited to, the following
enumerated powers and duties:
A.
To record and print out all alarms received each month
during the calendar year.
B.
To identify which alarms are false alarms, where they
originated, and the date and time each false alarm occurred.
C.
To serve a written notice of violation on the user
of an automatic protection device after the Millville Police Department
has received four false alarms for that user during the calendar year.
D.
To investigate potential violations of these regulations
and file a complaint with the Municipal Court against any person violating
these regulations.
The purpose of this article is to regulate the
standards and manner in which automatic protection devices are installed,
maintained and operated within the City of Millville to ensure the
protection of the public health, safety and welfare.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
that a different meaning is intended:
Any person who sells, leases or installs automatic protection
devices.
A service whereby trained employees in attendance at all
times receive prerecorded voice messages from automatic protection
devices reporting an emergency at a stated location and who have the
duty to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency message
over a direct or primary trunkline to the communications center of
the Millville Police Department.
Any device, bell, horn or siren, which is attached to the
interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible
outside the building, and is designed to attract attention when activated
by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police to respond.
An electrically operated instrument composed of sensory apparatus
and related hardware which automatically transmits an alarm or prerecorded
voice message upon receipt of a stimulus from a sensory apparatus
that has detected a physical force or condition inherently characteristic
of an intrusion.
A protective system operated privately for customers by a
person who maintains supervisors, trained operators and guards in
attendance at a central station at all times to accept recorded messages
or signals from automatic protection devices and who has the duty
to take appropriate action upon receipt of a recorded message or signal
including the relaying of messages by a direct or primary trunkline
to the communications center of the Millville Police Department.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Millville Police Department that is for the primary purpose of
handling emergency signals which originate from automatic protection
devices which are transmitted directly from the device.
An unlisted telephone line leading to the communications
center of the Millville Police Department that is for the primary
purpose of handling emergency messages.
Any signal activated by an automatic protection device, an
audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given
the police communications center to which police respond, which is
not the result of a burglary, robbery or similar emergency.
A central station protective system or an answering service
as herein defined.
To use a telephone line and equipment to transmit an alarm,
message or signal from an automatic protection device to a particular
location.
A natural person, association, corporation, firm, partnership,
trust or other legal entity.
The police communications room and other rooms which house
auxiliary communications equipment.
A telephone line leading into the communications center of
the Millville Police Department that is for the purpose of handling
administrative and other calls on a person-to-person basis and which
line is identified by a specific listing among the white pages in
the telephone directory issued by Bell Atlantic.
The person authorized to respond other than the listed owner
of the premises who can assist police with securing the premises if
necessary.
Any device designed to transmit a signal to a designated
trunkline or authorized intermediary when activated by a criminal
act or other emergency.
No person shall install or use an automatic
protection device within the City which is directly or indirectly
keyed to a designated, direct or primary trunkline without obtaining
the required permit from the City Clerk.
A.
No person who installs an automatic protection device
within the City for a home or business shall directly key said device
to a designated trunkline without obtaining a connection permit from
the City Clerk. The fee for the connection permit shall be $50 and
shall be paid once at the time of connection.
B.
No person shall use an automatic protection device
within the City without obtaining an annual user permit from the City
Clerk. The fee for the annual user permit is $20 which shall be paid
to the City Clerk when the application is filed. The annual permit
expires on December 31 of each year.
C.
Senior citizens and persons totally and permanently
disabled are exempt from the payment of the user fee, but shall otherwise
comply with these regulations.
The application for the connection permit and
the user permit shall be made in writing and filed with the City Clerk
as hereinafter provided:
A.
The application for the connection permit shall be
filed with the City Clerk prior to the date when the automatic protection
device is directly keyed to a designated trunkline. The application
shall contain the following information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner
or lessee of the device;
(2)
The address where the device is installed;
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of the person
who installed the equipment; and
(4)
The name, address and telephone number of the person
who will repair the equipment.
B.
The application for the initial user permit shall
be filed with the City Clerk when the automatic protection device
is installed. The application shall contain the following information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner
or lessee of the device;
(2)
The address where the device is installed;
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of the person
who installed the equipment;
(4)
The name, address and telephone number of the person
who will repair the equipment; and
(5)
The name, address and telephone number of the responder.
C.
The application for the annual user permit shall be
filed with the City Clerk each year not later than January 31. The
application shall contain the following information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number of the owner
or lessee of the automatic protection device;
(2)
The address where the device is installed;
(3)
The name, address and telephone number of the person
who will repair the equipment; and
(4)
The name, address and telephone number of the responder.
A.
Alarm prohibited. Owners or lessees must equip audible
alarms with a timing mechanism that will disengage the audible alarm
after a maximum period of 15 minutes. The Chief of Police, or his
designee, has the authority to disconnect alarms not in compliance
with this subsection.
B.
Direct keying. All automatic protection devices that
transmit alarms directly to the Millville Police Department shall
be keyed to a designated or direct trunkline. No automatic protection
device shall be keyed to a primary or secondary trunkline. No person
shall install an automatic protection device and key it to a designated
trunkline except an alarm equipment supplier who has a valid connection
permit from the City.
C.
Indirect keying. Any person who has an automatic protection
device within the City may arrange to have the device keyed to an
intermediary authorized to relay emergency messages to the Millville
Police Department. The relay of messages by an authorized intermediary
shall be over a direct or primary trunkline. Automatic protection
devices keyed to an authorized intermediary may also be keyed to another
telephone which the owner or lessee of the equipment has available
to him at another location.
D.
Current list of installations required.
(1)
Every alarm equipment supplier who has installed an
automatic protection device within the City shall furnish a monthly
report to the Chief of Police and to the City Clerk by the fifth working
day of each month containing a list of all installations made during
the preceding month. The report shall contain the following information:
(a)
The name, address and telephone number of the
owner or lessee.
(b)
The address where the device is installed and
the telephone number of that address.
(c)
The name, address and telephone number of a
central station protection system or any other person who is authorized
to respond to an emergency and gain access to the address where the
device is installed.
(d)
The name, address and telephone number of any
person, if any, other than the alarm equipment supplier who is responsible
for the maintenance and repair of the automatic protection device.
(2)
The monthly report shall also contain any corrections
or deletions which should be made to a prior month's report including
any disconnections.
(3)
All information supplied to the City pursuant to this
subsection shall remain confidential.
E.
Operational requirements. Automatic protection devices
installed within the City that are keyed to designated or direct trunklines
shall meet the following standards:
(1)
The type and content of recorded messages keyed to
a direct trunkline must be intelligible and in a format approved by
the Chief of Police as appropriate for the type of emergency prior
to installation.
(2)
No more than one call shall be made over a designated
or direct trunkline to the Millville Police Department as a result
of a single activation of the automatic protection device.
(3)
The time for transmitting each recorded message or
alarm shall not exceed 15 seconds.
(4)
Recorded messages and alarms may be repeated during
one call but the interval between each recorded message or alarm shall
be no less than eight seconds and no more than 12 seconds.
(5)
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an automatic
protection device must be adjusted to suppress false indications of
intrusion so that the device will not be activated by impulse due
to fleeting pressure changes in water pipes, short flashes of light,
the rattling or vibrating of doors or windows, vibrations to the premises
caused by the passing of vehicles or any other force not related to
genuine alarms.
(6)
All components comprising such a device must be maintained
by the owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum reliability
of operation.
F.
Technical information. Each alarm equipment supplier
who sells, leases or installs an automatic protection device within
the City shall furnish operating instructions, a circuit diagram and
maintenance manual to the buyer or lessee.
G.
Repair service. Each alarm equipment supplier who
sells, leases or installs an automatic protection device within the
City shall provide repair service as follows:
(1)
If the supplier provides repair service itself, it
shall make that service available to a user on a twenty-four-hour
per day basis for seven days per week.
(2)
If the supplier does not provide repair service itself,
it shall furnish to the user at the time that the equipment is installed
written information as to how service may be obtained at any time
including the telephone number for a person responsible for servicing
the equipment.
(3)
The buyer or lessee and the service provider shall
be responsible for having a malfunctioning device disconnected or
repaired as quickly as possible after notice is received that the
equipment is not functioning properly.
H.
Disconnection. When messages or alarms are received
by the Millville Police Department which evidence a failure to comply
with the operational standards contained herein, the Chief of Police,
or his designee, is authorized to demand that the owner or lessee
of the equipment disconnect the device until repaired. If disconnection
of the defective device is not accomplished promptly, the Chief of
Police, or his designee, is authorized to take the steps necessary
to disconnect the defective automatic protection device until it can
be repaired.
I.
Testing. No person shall conduct any test or demonstration
of an automatic protection device which is keyed to a designated or
direct trunkline without first obtaining permission from the Millville
Police Department. Where the equipment is keyed through an intermediary
no permission is necessary unless the alarm or signal is to be relayed
to the Millville Police Department.
A.
Any applicant for a permit may be denied a permit
by the City Clerk or any permit issued may be suspended or revoked
by the Director of Public Safety for any of the following causes:
B.
Any owner or lessee of an automatic protection device
who has had the equipment disconnected in order to relieve the Millville
Police Department of the burden of responding to false alarms may
be charged a fee of $50 for reconnection to the designated trunkline.
C.
The applicant or permit holder may appeal the decision
of the City Clerk or Director of Public Safety by filing a request
for a hearing before the Board of Commissioners with the City Clerk
within 10 days of receiving the notice of denial, suspension or revocation
of permit. The hearing shall be held within 20 days of the date that
the request is filed with the City Clerk.
[Amended 9-18-2018 by Ord. No. 51-2018]
Any person who shall violate any of these regulations
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the following penalties.
Each day that a violation occurs or continues shall be a separate
offense.
A.
For a first offense a minimum fine of $25 and a maximum
fine of $50.
B.
For a second offense a minimum fine of $50 and a maximum
fine of $100.
C.
For a third and subsequent offense a minimum fine
of $100 and a maximum fine of $500, together with a one-year disconnection
of the alarm device.
D.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to alarm devices on
property owned by public entities or agencies, or state, local, county
or federal governments.
