[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Harrison as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-29-1972 by L.L. No. 1-1972]
The Town Board hereby finds that standards and
controls regarding intrusion, holdup and other emergency signal devices
or protective services and the businesses and persons dealing in such
devices or protective services are necessary to safeguard the public
health, safety and welfare and that such standards and controls will
afford greater emergency protection to the public; will expedite emergency
communication and response; will facilitate coordination of emergency
procedures and identification of persons and devices engaged in providing
such procedures; will minimize false alarms and other misleading or
confusing signals or procedures; will reduce access to police and
emergency procedures and facilities to persons of poor moral character;
and will encourage the use of reliable systems and personnel to facilitate
emergency services available to the public. This article is intended
to serve the foregoing purposes by prohibiting the sale, leasing,
use, installation, repair or maintenance of any police alarm device
or protective service in the Town of Harrison, except in conformity
with the provisions of this article and the rules and regulations
promulgated hereunder.
For the purpose of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
Any person who is employed in or by any business, firm, corporation
or other entity which conducts a business of owning, operating, maintaining,
installing, leasing or selling police alarm devices and whose duties
in the Town of Harrison include any of the following: selling, maintaining,
leasing, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing,
in or on any building, place or premises, any police alarm device,
as defined in this article, within the Town of Harrison.
Any police alarm device or aggregation of police alarm devices
installed on or within a single building or on or within more than
one building or area adjacently located on a common site, at a specific
location.
Any business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity
which is in the business of owning, operating, maintaining, installing,
leasing or selling a police alarm device or devices, or system of
police alarm devices, which business, firm, corporation or other commercial
entity is, as owner, operator, provider of maintenance service, installer,
lessor or seller of said device, devices or system of devices, subject
to the license requirements of this article.
Any facility operated by a private firm that owns or leases
a system of police alarm devices, which facility is manned by operators
who receive, record or validate alarm signals and relay information
about such validated signals to the police when appropriate.
Any police alarm device which is a telephone device or telephone
attachment that automatically or electronically selects a telephone
line connected to a central alarm station and reproduces a prerecorded
message to report a criminal act or other emergency requiring police
response.
[Amended 5-20-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992][1]
Any police alarm device designed to be actuated by a criminal
act or other emergency at a specific location or by a victim of a
holdup, robbery or other emergency or criminal act at a specific location.
[Amended 4-7-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999]
Any signal actuated by an emergency alarm to which the Police
Department or Fire Department or Ambulance responds which is not the
result of a fire, crime or other emergency.
[Amended 4-7-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999]
Any entry into an area or building equipped with one or more
police alarm devices by any person or object whose entry actuates
a police alarm device.
The Town of Harrison Police Department.
Any device or system of devices which, when actuated by a
criminal act or other emergency requiring police response, transmits
a prerecorded message or other signal by telephone, radio or other
means to a central alarm station or produces an electronic, audible
or visible signal designed to notify persons within audible or visible
alarm range of the signal.
[Amended 5-20-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992]
Police Headquarters and other enclosures housing privately
or publicly owned equipment serving the Police Department.
The Town Board of the Town of Harrison.
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "dial
alarm," which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 5-20-1992
by L.L. No. 2-1992.
It shall be unlawful for any person, business,
firm, corporation or other entity to:
A.
Authority to grant licenses and permits.
(1)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant
a nontransferable revocable license, upon approval of the Town Board,
to any business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity, authorizing
said business, firm, corporation or other commercial entity to do
business in the Town of Harrison by performing any or all of the following
functions: to own, operate, maintain, install, lease or sell a police
alarm device or central alarm system.
(2)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant
a nontransferable revocable license, upon approval of the Town Board,
to any alarm agent.
(3)
The licensing authority is hereby authorized to grant
a nontransferable revocable permit to any owner of property located
within the Town of Harrison, or the lessee thereof, to operate, maintain,
install and modify a police alarm device.
B.
All presently existing police alarm devices and systems
of police alarm devices and present owners and lessees of premises
having such devices or systems must comply with all provisions of
this article by March 1, 1973.
Applications for licenses and permits shall
be made as follows:
A.
All businesses, firms, corporations or other commercial
entities which are in the business of owning, operating, maintaining,
installing, leasing or selling a police alarm device or devices or
system of police alarm devices, who desire to conduct business in
the Town of Harrison, shall apply to the licensing authority for a
business license on a form to be supplied by the licensing authority.
The application shall contain specific provisions relating to the
quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the device or system of devices
owned or to be operated, maintained, installed, leased or sold by
the business licensee; experience and background data regarding the
applicant, its principals and its personnel; testing procedures involved;
and any other information the licensing authority shall determine
to be reasonably necessary to effectuate the purpose of this article.
Such business licenses shall be issued for one-year periods on a calendar-year
basis or a part thereof, and no license shall extend beyond December
31 of each year. Notwithstanding this provision, a person having a
business license may conduct such business through January 31 of the
year following the expiration of his business license.
B.
Any person who is to be an alarm agent in the Town
of Harrison, before acting as such alarm agent, shall apply for and
receive a revocable alarm agent license. The application shall be
made to the licensing authority on a form to be supplied by such authority.
The application shall contain specific provisions relating to the
types of police alarm devices which are to be sold, leased, installed,
operated or maintained by the alarm agent, the skill and competency
of the applicant as an alarm agent and such other information the
licensing authority determines to be reasonably necessary to effectuate
the purpose of this article. Such license shall be issued for a one-year
period on a calendar-year basis or a part thereof, and no license
shall extend beyond December 31 of each year. Notwithstanding this
provision, a person having an alarm agent license may act as such
alarm agent through January 31 of the year following the expiration
of his license.
C.
Any property owner or lessee of property in the Town
of Harrison having on his or its premises a police alarm device shall
apply to the licensing authority, on a form to be supplied by the
licensing authority, for a permit to own or otherwise have such a
device on his or its premises. The application shall contain provisions
relating to the device or system of devices installed or to be installed
on the premises. Application for permits for police alarm devices
existing in premises on the effective date of this article must be
made to the licensing authority by January 1, 1973. No such device
may be installed on the premises of the owner or lessee after the
effective date of this article prior to the licensing authority having
issued a permit to such owner or lessee, and no presently existing
alarm device shall be modified after the effective date of this article
prior to the licensing authority having issued a permit to such owner
or lessee. Such permit need not be obtained on an annual basis but
shall be obtained each time a device or system is to be installed
or modified.
[Amended 1-21-1981 by L.L. No. 1-1981; 4-7-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999; 2-21-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
License fees for business license, alarm agent license, owner or lessee permits shall be as set forth in the most current resolution of the Town Board fixing the fee pursuant to § 137-1 of the Town Code.
A.
A license issued under this article may be suspended
or revoked by the licensing authority after notice and hearing by
the licensing authority for the violation of any of the provisions
of this article or of any regulation or regulations promulgated by
the licensing authority pursuant to this article, and any license
or identification card issued hereunder shall be surrendered immediately
to the licensing authority upon such suspension or revocation. No
part of a license fee shall be refunded when a license is suspended
or revoked.
B.
Any applicant whose application for a license or permit
has been denied or any business licensee, alarm agent, owner or lessee
whose license has been suspended or revoked by the licensing authority
may appeal such suspension or revocation, in writing, to the Town
Board within 30 days after the date of the notice of suspension or
revocation and may appear before such Town Board, at a time and place
to be determined by the Town Board, in support of his or its contention
that the license should not have been suspended or revoked. The decision
of the Town Board shall be final.
Every business, firm, corporation or other entity
conducting the business of owning, operating, installing, leasing
or selling police alarm devices within the Town of Harrison shall
maintain complete and accurate records of all installations of alarm
systems in the Town of Harrison and shall produce such records for
inspection by the licensing authority upon demand.
[Amended 5-20-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992]
On and after January 1, 1993, no police alarm device shall be connected to or use any telephone line connected to Police Headquarters, and the Police Department may disconnect any such telephone lines which have not been removed on or after such date. The owner and licensee of any such police alarm device which is connected, either directly or indirectly, to Police Headquarters by a telephone line, on or after January 1, 1993, shall be in violation of this article and shall be subject to the penalty provisions of § 82-17 herein. Neither the town, the Town Board or the Police Department nor any of its employees, officers or agents shall in any way be responsible or liable for interruption in services or protection due to the removal of such devices from Police Headquarters.
It shall be a violation of this article to intentionally cause a false holdup alarm, and any person who does intentionally cause a false holdup alarm shall be subject to the penalty provisions of § 82-17 herein.
[Amended 1-21-1981 by L.L. No. 1-1981; 4-7-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999; 2-3-2011 by L.L. No. 2-2011]
Any owner or lessee of property having a police alarm device or system of police alarm devices on his, her or its premises and any user of services or equipment furnished by a licensee under this article shall pay to the Town of Harrison a charge for each and every false holdup alarm to which the Police Department, Fire Department or Ambulance respond, in each calendar year, in accordance with the false alarm fees set forth in the most current resolution of the Town Board fixing the fees pursuant to § 137-1 of the Town Code.
[Amended 5-20-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992]
The installation and maintenance of police alarm
devices permitted by this article shall be made at no cost to the
town. The owner or lessee shall be responsible for the maintenance
and service of his or its police alarm device equipment and shall
be responsible for all malfunctions or mechanical failures of his
or its equipment.
The licensing authority shall promulgate reasonable
rules, regulations and standards, which shall be approved by the Town
Board, that may reasonably be necessary for administering this article
and achieving its purposes. The licensing authority shall administer
and enforce the provisions of this article. The aforesaid rules, regulations
and standards shall be set forth in writing, and copies shall be available
for applicants. No such rule, regulation or standard shall take effect
unless filed with the Town Clerk.
The licensing authority is hereby authorized
to prescribe the location and the manner of installation of private
or regular business telephone lines into Police Headquarters from
a central alarm station for the express purpose of providing direct
telephone communication between a central alarm station and Police
Headquarters for use in reporting holdup alarms.
None of the provisions of this article shall
apply to a police alarm device or devices installed in a motor vehicle
or trailer nor to employees of a public utility company engaged in
the business of providing communication, services or facilities.
The town, its Police Department and any of its
agents and its employees shall not have any liability or responsibility
for the installation, operation or effectiveness of any dial, direct
or any other form of police alarm system and shall not be subject
to any claims, demands or actions which may arise out of or in connection
with the performance or nonperformance of any police alarm systems
or any persons licensed by the town as alarm agents or business licensees.
[Amended 2-19-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986]
Any person violating any of the provisions of
this article shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not to
exceed $250 or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed 15 days, or
both.[1]
