[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Plainsboro 7-31-1981
by Ord. No. 0-81-18; amended in its entirety 7-12-2006
by Ord. No. 0-06-18. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Department of Public Safety — See Ch. 14.
Public Safety Director — See Ch. 28.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 64.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide minimum standards and regulations
for the use of privately installed burglary, robbery, medical and fire alarm
systems, to require registration, to establish fees and fines and to create
an administrative apparatus.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
- ALARM SYSTEM
- An assembly of equipment and devices arranged to signal a monitoring company of the presence of a hazard or medical emergency requiring urgent attention and to which police, fire fighters and/or emergency medical personnel are expected to respond. "Alarm system" does not include an alarm installed in a vehicle or on someone's person unless the vehicle or the personal alarm is permanently located at a site. In this chapter, the term "alarm system" shall include but not be limited to:
- A. An alarm system in which a signal transmission is initiated by the action of a robber.
- B. An alarm system signaling an entry or attempted entry into the area protected by the system.
- C. An alarm system signaling a robbery or attempted robbery generated by the manual activation of a device.
- D. A silent alarm signal generated by the entry of a designated code into an arming station in order to signal that the alarm user is being forced to turn off the system and requires law enforcement response.
- E. Alarm systems which monitor temperature, humidity, or any other condition of a fire hazard nature, and not directly related to the detection of an unauthorized intrusion into a premises or an attempted robbery at a premises. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this chapter, the term "alarm system" shall not include self-contained battery or electrically powered smoke detector units located within a dwelling unit which give out an audible signal and which are not tied into or directly connected with a central receiving station.
- F. An alarm system signaling the need for medical assistance.
- CANCELLATION
- The process where response to a burglar alarm is terminated when a monitoring company (designated by the alarm user) for the alarm site notifies our Communications Center there is not an existing situation at the alarm site requiring law enforcement response after an alarm dispatch request.
- FALSE ALARM
- An alarm signal, eliciting a response by police, fire fighters, and/or emergency medical personnel when a situation requiring a response by the police, fire fighters, and/or emergency medical personnel does not in fact exist, but does not include an alarm signal caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm user.
- MONITORING
- The process by which a monitoring company receives signals for an alarm system and relays an alarm dispatch request to the municipality for the purpose of summoning police, fire, and/or emergency medical services.
- MONITORING COMPANY
- The person in the business of providing monitoring services.
- VERIFY
- An attempt by the monitoring company or its representative to contact the alarm site and/or the alarm user by telephone and/or other electronic means, whether or not actual contact with a person is made, to determine whether a burglar alarm signal is valid before requesting law enforcement dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request. For the purpose of this chapter, telephone verification shall require, at a minimum, that a second call be made to a different number if the first attempt fails to reach an alarm user who can properly identify themselves to determine whether an alarm signal is valid before requesting law enforcement dispatch.
A.
An initial registration shall be required for each alarm
system within the Township of Plainsboro.
B.
Any person desiring the issuance of a registration shall
file with the Director of Public Safety a written application, on a form to
be provided.
C.
A registration fee of $10 for each dwelling unit and
$25 for all other applicants shall be paid by the applicant. If two separate
systems or a single system with two separate functions is involved, then separate
fees shall be required for each such system or function; but in no instance
shall this permit fee exceed $50. In cases where a new homeowner or business
assumes control of a system in place at the time of acquisition or possession
of the property a new registration is required in accordance with the provisions
above.
A.
No alarm user shall operate, or cause to be operated,
an alarm system at its alarm site without a valid alarm registration. A separate
alarm registration is required for each alarm system.
B.
Every burglar alarm must be provided with a device which
will automatically reset or shut off the alarm after 15 minutes from the time
of activation.
C.
Every burglar alarm system in a private dwelling shall
be equipped with a time delay of at least 20 seconds in the event that the
system shall be accidentally activated.
D.
Every nonresidential fire alarm system shall not be silenced,
reset or shut off, until a member of the Fire Department or Fire Official
arrives on the scene and determines the specific location of the alarm in
the building, and authorizes the silencing or resetting of the system.
E.
Every alarm user shall provide a signed certification
stating the following:
(1)
The date of installation, conversion or takeover of the
alarm system, whichever is applicable;
(2)
That a set of written operating instructions for the
alarm system, including written guidelines on how to avoid false alarms, have
been left with the applicant by the alarm installation company, the previous
system owner, or the monitoring company;
(3)
The alarm installation company or current alarm company
has trained the applicant in the proper use of the alarm system, including
instructions on how to avoid false alarms; and
(4)
A certificate of approval has been obtained from the
Plainsboro Township Construction Official for each alarm system.
F.
Emergency services response may be influenced by factors
including, but not limited to the availability of units to respond, priority
calls, weather conditions, traffic conditions, emergency conditions, staffing
levels, etc.
Alarm user shall:
A.
Maintain the alarm site and the alarm system in a manner
that will minimize or eliminate false alarms.
B.
Make every reasonable effort to have a responder to the
alarm system's location within 20 minutes when requested by law enforcement
to deactivate an alarm system; provide access to the alarm site; provide alternative
security for the alarm site.
C.
Not activate an alarm system for any reason other than
an occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report.
D.
Have a licensed alarm installation company inspect the
alarm system after three false alarms in a one-year period. After five false
alarms within a one-year period, the alarm user must have a licensed alarm
installation company modify the alarm system to be more false-alarm resistant
or provide additional user training as appropriate.
E.
Maintain a written set of operating instructions for
each alarm system.
F.
Complete the customer false alarm prevention checklist
and submit it with the registration to the alarm administrator.
A.
No person shall use or possess an operative alarm system
without having registered it in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
No person owning, using or possessing an alarm system
shall cause or permit the giving of repeated false alarms, whether intentional,
accidental or otherwise.
C.
An alarm registration cannot be transferred to another
person or alarm site. An alarm user shall inform the alarm administrator of
any change that alters the information listed on the alarm registration within
five business days of such a change.
D.
All fines and fees owed by an applicant must be paid
before an alarm registration may be issued.
The acceptance of any alarm system by the Director of Public Safety
and/or Fire Official as provided herein shall in no manner place upon the
Police Division, Township of Plainsboro, or the Fire District, any additional
liabilities other than those statutorily incurred with the police or fire
functions.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any alarm system installed
on property occupied by any Township, County, state or federal government
agency or office.
A.
Any alarm user who fails to register their system as specified in § 47-3 above is subject to a fine of $25.
B.
Any residential alarm system, subject to the control
of the alarm user, which has six or more false alarms for each system (i.e.,
burglar, fire, or medical) within the calendar year, is in violation of this
chapter and subject to a fine of $50 to $1,000 for each false alarm over six.
C.
Any commercial/business alarm system, subject to the
control of the alarm user, and located in a building of less than 150,000
square feet, which has six or more false alarms for each system (i.e., burglar,
fire, or medical) within the calendar year is in violation of this chapter
and subject to a fine of $50 to $1,000 for each false alarm over six. Any
commercial/business alarm system, subject to the control of the alarm user,
and located in a building of more than 150,000 square feet, which has 10 or
more false alarms for each system (i.e. burglar, fire, or medical) within
the calendar year is in violation of this chapter and subject to a fine of
$50 to $1,000 for each false alarm over 10. Businesses which have more than
one building on a site will be subject to the control of the alarm user, which
has six or more false alarms for each system in each building (i.e., burglar,
fire, or medical) within the calendar year is in violation of this chapter
and subject to a fine of $50 to $1,000 for each false alarm over six.
D.
Any alarm user installing any alarm system not in compliance
with this chapter is subject to a fine of $100.
