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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 98- 1470, Adds Ch. 8.05, alarm systems .--- -~---- - ORDINANCE NO. 1470 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONT ANA, PROVIDING THAT THE BOZEMAN MUNICIPAL CODE BE AMENDED BY ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 8.05, ESTABLISHING REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATIONAL RELIABILITY AND PROPER USE OF SECURITY ALARM SYSTEMS. . BE IT ORDAINED by the City Commission of the City of Bozeman, Montana, that Section 1 The Bozeman Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding a new Chapter, to be numbered Chapter 8.05, to read as follows: "CHAPTER 8.05 ALARM SYSTEMS 8.05.010. Definitions. A. "Alarm system monitoring company" means any individual, partnership, corporation or other form of association that engages in the business of monitoring security alarm systems and reporting any activation of such alarm systems to the police. B. "Alarm user" means any individual, partnership, corporation or other form of association that owns or leases a security alarm system or on whose premises a security alarm . system is maintained for the protection of the premises. C. "Automatic dialing telephone alarm" means a security alarm system with a device that automatically dials the Police Department emergency assistance telephone lines without human activation of the device by the alarm user. D. "Chief of Police" means the Chief of Police of the City of Bozeman or the Chief's designee. E. "Department" means the Bozeman Police Department. F. "Dispatch" or "response" means a discretionary decision whether to direct police units to a location where there has been a request, made by whatever means, for police assistance or investigation. There is no duty to dispatch under any circumstances, including to answer an alarm signal, and all dispatch decisions are made subject to competing priorities and . available police resources. G. "False alarm" means an alarm signal eliciting notification to and a response by the police when there is no evidence of a crime or other activity that warrants a call for immediate police assistance and no person who was on or near the property or has viewed a video communication from the property called for the police dispatch or confirmed the need for police ___ u._.. -..------- ---.- _ .... .-. _____ assistance. "False alarm" does not include an alarm signal caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the alarm user. H. "Security alarm system" means any system, device, or mechanism for the detection and reporting of any unauthorized entry or attempted entry or property damage upon premises protected by the system that may be activated by sensors or other techniques and, . when activated, automatically transmits a telephone message or emits an audible, visible, or electronic signal that can be heard, seen, or received by persons outside the protected premises and is intended to summon police assistance. 8.05.020. Audible Alarm Standards. A security alarm system that emits an audible signal that may be heard outside the protected premises shall conform to the following requirements: A. Audible alarms shall automatically discontinue emitting the audible sound within then (1 Q) minutes after activation of the alarm; and B. With respect to security alarm systems in existence prior to the enactment of this Chapter that do not comply with provision (a) above, the alarm user shall have ninety (90) days from the enactment of the ordinance in which to make the necessary modifications to the alarm . system in order to comply with the requirement. 8.05.030. Violation of Audible Alarm Standard. A. The sounding of an audible signal from a security alarm system that can be heard continuously off the premises for more than ten (1 Q) minutes is a civil infraction and the alarm user, in addition to any other penalties specified herein, shall be penalized by a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense. B. It is a defense to a violation of this Section that the continuous sounding of the alarm: 1. assisted in saving a life or avoiding injury; or 2. was caused by a malfunction of the alarm system equipment without the alarm user's prior knowledge of the cause of the malfunction; or 3. was activated by an unauthorized entry of criminal activity. . 8.05.040. Automatic Dialing Telephone Systems Prohibited. Beginning ninety (90) days after the effective date of this Ordinance, it shall be unlawful for any individual, partnership, corporation or other form of association to sell, offer for sale, install, maintain, operate or assist in the operation of any alarm system with an automatic dialing or digital alarm communicator feature that automatically calls the police in the event of an alarm. - 2 - 8.05.050. Alarm Users. An alarm user shall: A. Maintain the premises and security alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarms; B. Review all alarm system operating instructions, including those for verification of . an alarm; C. Maintain a verification process, as specified in Section 8.05.070, for all monitored security alarm systems in order to prevent unnecessary police dispatches resulting from false alarms; D. Notify the alarm system monitoring company of a false alarm activation as soon as the user is aware of the false alarm; and E. Not manually activate an alarm except when needing an immediate police response to an emergency. 8.05.060. Alarm System Monitoring Companies. An alarm system monitoring company engaging in business activities in the City shall: A. Obtain all necessary business licenses as required by the City of Bozeman and . State of Montana; B. Maintain a current record, accessible to the Chief of Police at all times, that includes: the names of the alarm users serviced by the company; the addresses of the protected properties; the type of alarm system, original installation date and subsequent modifications, if any, for each protected property; and a record of the false alarms at each property; C. Provide the Chief of Police such information as the Chief requests regarding: the nature of the company's security alarms; the company's method of monitoring the alarms; the company's program for preventing false alarms, including educational programs for alarm users; and the company's method for disconnecting audible alarms; D. Provide each of its alarm system users with: operating instructions for the alarm system, including an explanation of the alarm company's alarm verification process; a telephone . number to call for assistance in operating the system; and a summary of the provisions of this Chapter relating to penalties for false alarms and the possibility of no police response to alarm systems experiencing excessive false alarms; E. Maintain a verification process, as specified in Section 8.05.070, for all monitored security alarm systems in order to prevent unnecessary police dispatches resulting from false alarms; - 3 - ----- - -. --... -.-.--.- ...-.- -... F. Communicate requests for police response to the Department in a manner specified by the Chief; G. Communicate requests for cancellations of pOlice response in a manner specified by the Chief; H. Maintain a record of all requests for police response to alarm, including: the date . and time of the alarm and request for police response; the alarm system user's name and address; evidence of the company's attempt to verify the alarm; and, to the best of its knowledge, an explanation of the cause of any false alarm; and I. Work cooperatively with the alarm system user and the Chief in order to determine the cause of any false alarm and to prevent recurrences. 8.05.070. Security Alarm Verification Process. A verification process is an independent method of an alarm system monitoring company for determining that a signal from a security alarm system requires immediate police response. The verification process shall not take more than five (5) minutes, calculated from the time that the alarm company receives the alarm signal until the alarm company determines whether to request a police dispatch. The means of verification shall include at least one (1) of . the following: A. The establishment of voice communications with the alarm user or a person authorized by the user at or near the premises with the alarm who may indicate whether there is an immediate need for police response; B. A feature that permits the alarm user or a person authorized by the user to send a special signal to the alarm company that will cancel the alarm immediately after the signal has been sent and prevent the alarm company from calling the police; C. The installation of a video system that provides the alarm company when the alarm signal is received with the ability to ascertain whether activity is occurring that warrants immediate police response; D. A confirmation that an alarm signal reflects a need for immediate police response . from either the alarm user or a person authorized by the user or an alternate response agency made before dispatching the police; or E. An alternate system that the Chief determines has or is likely to have a high degree of reliability. - 4 - .- --- - ---.""'t"""----~__ .--.... ....---..--._____- ----..---- .-- - -..---------:r----- -.- ----- -. 8.05.080. Unlawful Activation or Report of Alarm. A. No person shall activate a security alarm system for the purpose of summoning the police except in the event of an unauthorized entry, robbery, or other crime being committed or attempted on the premises, or if the person needs immediate assistance in order to avoid injury or serious bodily harm. . B. Any person who shall notify the police of an activated alarm and have knowledge that such activation was apparently caused by an electrical or other malfunction shall at the same time notify the police of the apparent malfunction. 8.05.090. Determination of False Alarm; Rebuttable Presumption. For the purposes of this Chapter, there is a rebuttable presumption that the following determinations made by the Chief of Police or by a police officer dispatched to the premises reporting an alarm signal are correct: A. There is no evidence of a crime or other activity that would warrant a call for immediate police assistance at the premises; B. No individual who was on or near the premises or who has viewed a video communication from the premises called for a police dispatch or verified a need for an immediate . police response; and C. There is no evidence that violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the alarm user caused the activation of the alarm. 8.05.100. Penalty for False Alarm. A false alarm is an administrative infraction, and the alarm system user shall be penalized by a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense. 8.05.110. Appeal of False Alarm Fine. A. The Bozeman City Court may waive the administrative penalty incurred by an alarm system user for a false alarm and clear the notice of violation as a warning if: 1 . The notice to alarm user describes a violation of Section 8.05.100; and 2. Within fifteen (15) days after the date of the notice of a false alarm, the alarm user either follows the instructions on the back of the notice of violation . to arrange an appearance in court or mails a written response to the court requesting a waiver and clearance as a warning. B. The alarm user may present evidence before the court or in the written response to the court that shows: the steps that the alarm user or alarm system monitoring company has taken, or is taking, to correct the false alarm problem; the incidence of crime in the area of the property; the facts and circumstances of the false alarm; and other relevant information. - 5 - - ---------- _.. __m_.._______..___...._._ ._.~ --...-.--- 8.05.120. No-Response to Frequent False Alarms; Appeal of No-Response Determination. A. When the Chief of Police determines whether to make an immediate dispatch in response to notification of a signal from a security alarm system, the Chief may disregard a call for police assistance when: 1 . the call for assistance comes from an alarm system for a premises that has a record of sending four (4) false alarms in a six (6) month period; and . 2. the call is the only basis for making the dispatch. B. The Chief may consider such a call for assistance as an additional factor in the Chief's decision to order an immediate police response when an in-person call, verification from a person at or near the premises, or other independent evidence shows a need for immediate police assistance at the premises. C. To discourage false alarms, the Chief shall adopt a process of sending a letter or delivering other written notice informing the alarm user who has had a false alarm of the consequences of excessive false alarms, the need to take corrective action, and the prospect that four (4) false alarms in a six (6) month period shall result in the police disregarding alarms from the premises and not responding to requests for immediate police assistance unless there is an in-person call for assistance from someone at or near the premises or other independent . information that verifies the need for an immediate police response. D. Before determining not to respond to alarms from a premises as specified above, the Chief shall send or deliver notice to the alarm user that: 1. Four (4) false alarms have been received from the property within a six (6) month period; 2. The remedy authorized in Section (a) above may be taken; 3. The alarm system user may request a hearing before the Chief or the Chief's designee and explain why the Chief should not take the proposed action; 4. If no hearing is requested, the Department will after ten (10) days from the delivery of the notice disregard alarms from the premises unless there is an in-person call for assistance from someone at or near the premises or other independent information that verifies the need for an immediate police response; and . 5. A requirement of an in-person communication or other verification shall remain in effect for a period of one (1) year. E. If a hearing is requested, the Chief shall schedule the hearing within ten (10) days of the receipt of the request. At the hearing, the Chief may consider such factors as: the steps that the alarm user or alarm system monitoring company has taken, or is taking, to correct the problem; the incidence of crime in the area of the premises; the facts and circumstances of the - 6 - false alarms; and other relevant information presented by the alarm user or the alarm system monitoring company. F. The Chief may suspend or cancel the remedy under Section (a) if the Chief determines that the alarm user or alarm system monitoring company has taken appropriate actions to prevent the recurrence of false alarms. . 8.05.130. Violation - Penalties. A. An alarm system monitoring company's failure to comply with any of the requirements of this Chapter shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00). Each day of noncompliance shall constitute a separate offense. S. The violations of the other sections of this Chapter shall be a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of up to fifty dollars ($50.00), unless otherwise specified. C. There shall be a maximum penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) for any of the following: 1. Failure to respond to a false alarm notice within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the notice; 2. Failure to appear for a hearing requested pursuant to this Chapter; and 3. Failure to pay any fine imposed pursuant to this Chapter." . Section 2 Repealer. All resolutions, ordinances and sections of the Bozeman Municipal Code and parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. Section 3 Severability. If any provisions of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this ordinance which may be given effect without the invalid provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. Section 4 . Savings Provision. This ordinance does not affect the rights or duties that matured, penalties and assessments that were incurred or proceedings that begun before the effective date of this ordinance. - 7 - --- - ---- -- Section 5 Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect on June 20, 1998. PASSED by the City Commission of the City of Bozeman, Montana, on first reading at . a regular session thereof held on the 4th day of May 1998. ATTEST: r;~ J ~ ROBIN L. SULUV AN Clerk of the Commission PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED by the City Commission of the City of Bozeman, Montana, on second reading at a regular session thereof held on the 18th day of May 1998. . (?#~ -LW ALFRED . STIFF, Mayor ATTEST: ~J7~ ROBIN L. SULI:.IV~N ~-~ - Clerk of the CQmmis$ior'l .- ."--.. APPROVED AS TO FORM: . - 8 - ..._----". State of Montana ) County of Gallatin ) City of Bozeman ) I, Robin L. Sullivan, Clerk of the Commission of the City of Bozeman, Montana, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 1470 was published by title and number in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in said City, . in the issue dated the 22nd day of May 1998, and due proof of such publication is on file in my office. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I hereunto set my hand and affix the corporate seal of my office. Cl~ ;/~~ ROBIN L. SULLlVAf\f Clerk of the Commission . . - 9 -