[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of South Harrison 6-13-2007 by Ord. No. 0-07-10. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish regulations concerning
the operation and maintenance of certain alarm systems within the
Township of South Harrison and to provide penalties upon conviction
for violations of any of the provisions set forth herein.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and phrases are
defined as follows:
Any mechanical, electrical or electronic device which is
designed or used for the detection of an unauthorized entry into a
building, structure or facility or for alerting others about the commission
of an unlawful act in a building, structure or facility or for alerting
others about the existence of any other condition requiring response
of police, fire or ambulance personnel.
The activation of an alarm where an emergency does not exist
or an alarm activated by inadvertence, negligence or an unintentional
or intentional act of someone other than an intruder, and shall include
alarms caused by malfunctioning of the alarm, device, alarm system
or its related equipment. The term "false alarm" shall not include
alarms created by malfunctioning of the Police Department alarm console
or other Police Department equipment or activations caused by public
utility interruptions, where such interruptions have been reported
to the police, or activations caused by natural disaster or activations
caused by testing or repair of any alarm system or device.
Any one or more units of the South Harrison volunteer fire
companies and/or South Harrison Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
South Harrison Police Department.
Township of South Harrison, County of Gloucester and State
of New Jersey.
A.
It
shall be the responsibility of all persons, entities, firms, corporations
or other groups that maintain alarm systems within the Township to
provide current information to the police, consisting of the names
and telephone numbers of responsible persons who may be contacted
in case of emergency or who are authorized to provide services to
the alarm systems. This information is to be filed with the South
Harrison Police Department when the alarm system is initially placed
into service and must be revised immediately whenever changes are
necessary. Likewise, it shall be the responsibility of all persons,
entities, firms, corporations or other groups that maintain alarm
systems within the Township to provide current information to the
Bureau of Fire Safety of the Township of South Harrison which includes
the names and telephone numbers of responsible persons who may be
contacted in the case of emergency or who are authorized to provide
services to the alarm systems.
B.
It
shall be a violation of this section for each occasion when the police,
fire or ambulance are required to respond to a false alarm as defined
herein.
C.
It
shall be the responsibility of all persons, entities, firms, corporations
or other groups that maintain alarm systems within the Township to
prevent the transmission of false alarms through a program of training
and periodic inspection and maintenance of their respective alarm
system.
D.
This
chapter may be enforced by the Police Department of the Township of
South Harrison and/or the Fire Official of the Township of South Harrison.
A.
For
any false alarm, the following penalties shall be applied:
(1)
For the first, second and third false alarm in any given calendar
year, a warning shall be issued by the Township of South Harrison
through a letter to the owner and/or resident of the premises on which
the false alarm was sounded.
(2)
For the fourth false alarm in the same calendar year, a fine of $50
shall be paid to the Township of South Harrison.
(3)
For a fifth false alarm in the same calendar year, a fine of $100
shall be paid to the Township of South Harrison.
B.
Any
person, entity, firm, corporation or other group that is found guilty
of violating any of the other provisions of this chapter or guilty
of a sixth or more false alarms in the same calendar year shall be
subject to a fine of not more than $1,000. This chapter shall be enforceable
in the Municipal Court of the Township of South Harrison.
The provision of this chapter shall not apply to the general
alerting alarms that may be used by fire companies, ambulance squads
or civil defense agencies to summon response of their members. The
provisions of this chapter further shall not apply to alarm systems
that are affixed to motor vehicles such as police, ambulance and/or
fire vehicles.
The provisions contained herein shall apply equally to those
alarm systems that were placed in service prior to or subsequent to
the effective date of this chapter. Existing alarm owners shall have
60 days from the effective date of this chapter to register such alarm
devices with the South Harrison Police Department in accordance with
this chapter.
