[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Amityville 12-14-2009 by L.L. No. 22-2009.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided that it shall take
effect on January 2, 2010, subject to acceptance and filing by the
Secretary of State.
The purpose of this chapter is as follows:
A.
To
promote the safety and welfare of the citizens of the Village of Amityville
minimizing, to the fullest extent practicable, the number of false
burglary and fire alarms.
B.
To
increase the efficiency and safety of the Amityville Police Department,
other law enforcement agencies and the Amityville Fire Department
in executing their duties by reducing, to the fullest extent practicable,
the number of false alarms.
The Amityville Board of Trustees, after due deliberation, makes
the following findings:
A.
The
overwhelming majority of burglary alarm calls are due either to faulty
alarms or to the accidental setting off of the alarm by the owner
or the user of the alarm system or device.
B.
Approximately
500 false alarms have occurred on an annual basis in the last several
years, resulting in an unconscionable and an unnecessary waste of
man-hours and taxpayer expense.
C.
The
high incidence of alarm systems or devices emitting a false alarm
poses a clear danger to the safety and well-being of the citizens
of the Village of Amityville.
D.
Any
alarm system, as defined herein, emitting a false alarm which automatically
and directly dials any emergency phone number is very prone to be
activated by electrical current failures or other events having no
connection with criminal activity and tie up such emergency phones,
making them unavailable to receive genuine emergency calls.
E.
Any
alarm device or system emitting a false call or alarm is hereby declared
to be a public nuisance and threat to the safety, security and well-being
of the citizens of the Village of Amityville.
F.
Any
alarm system or device emitting a false alarm seriously disrupts law
enforcement operations, undermines law enforcement efficiency and
seriously impairs the ability of law enforcement personnel to respond
to legitimate emergency situations.
G.
Any
alarm system or device emitting a false fire alarm seriously endangers
the well-being of Amityville Fire Department personnel and seriously
impairs the ability of Fire Department personnel to respond to legitimate
emergency situations.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:
Any person who owns, leases, rents, uses or makes available
for use by his agents, employees, representatives or family any alarm
system.
Any device, system or instrument, whether known as a burglary,
robbery or intrusion alarm, direct-dial telephone device, audible
or silent, or by any other name, which is designed or maintained or
intended to detect an unauthorized entry into any building, structure
or facility or to signal the commission of an unlawful act or any
other emergency. Any device installed by a telephone company to protect
telephone company systems which might be damaged or disrupted by the
use of an alarm system is not included in this definition.
An alarm system designated to notify persons in the immediate
vicinity of the protected premises by emission of an audible sound
of an unauthorized entry on the premises or of the commission of an
unlawful act or emergency condition.
An alarm system which is connected to a telephone line and,
upon activation of an alarm system, automatically dials a predetermined
telephone number and transmits a message or signal indicating the
need for emergency response by any law enforcement agency or Fire
Department. Such "direct-dial service" connected to the phone of a
neighbor, friend, owner, central office or answering service is not
affected by this chapter.
An alarm signal activated by causes or events other than
the commission or attempted commission of an unlawful act or emergency,
for which the alarm system is designated to detect. An alarm signal
activated by violent or unusual conditions of nature or other extraordinary
circumstances not subject to the control of the alarm owner shall
not constitute a "false alarm."
A.
It
shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for an alarm owner
to use an alarm system which is equipped with a functioning direct-dial
service which, when activated, automatically dials a number in the
Amityville Police Village Headquarters.
B.
It
shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for an alarm owner
to use an existing audible alarm after September 15, 1981, unless
it is designed to terminate its operation or to automatically reset
within 30 minutes of its being activated.
C.
No
audible alarm may be installed in any building or structure unless
it is installed and designed to terminate its operation or to automatically
reset within 30 minutes of its being activated. For every audible
alarm installed or existing in a commercial structure, the owner thereof
may post a coded sticker, to be obtained from the local police precinct
upon voluntary registration with such precinct for police identification
only. Such posting shall be visible to the general public outside
the building in which the alarm is contained.
