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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-1132 - Ordinance - 09/28/1978ORDINANCE NO. 1132 AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR THE REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ALARM SYSTEMS IN THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION; PROVIDING FOR REGISTRATION, STANDARDS, TESTING OF EQUIPMENT; PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR FALSE ALARMS AND EQUIPMENT MAL- FUNCTIONS AND OTHER SECTIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS: Section 1. Definitions Alarm Agent -- Any person who is employed by a business firm, corporation, or other commercial entity that is registered by the State of Texas to conduct the business of owning, operating, manitaining, installing, leasing, or selling police alarm devices and whose duties include any or all of the following: selling, maintaining, leasing, servicing, repairing, altering, moving, or installing in or on any building, place or premise within the City of College Station any police alarm device as defined in this ordinance. Central Station -- Any premise, usually maintained by an alarm company, equipped to receive and displace signals from any police alarm system. Chief of Police -- The Chief of the City of College Station Police Depart- ment or his designated representative. City -- The City of College Station. Dial Alarm -- Any police alarm device which is a telephone device or telephone attachment that automatically or electronically selects a telephone line connected to police headquarters and reproduces a prerecorded message to report a criminal act or other emergency requiring police response. Direct Alarm -- Any police alarm device or system running directly from a specific location to police headquarters and connected by leased lines or wires. False Alarm -- The activation of an alarm device or system, as described in the ordinance by means of improper installation and/or negligence on the part of the subscriber of an alarm device or system and/or his employed or agents. Also, included is the malfunction and mechanical failure of a system due to lack of maintenance. Such terminology does not include alarms caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, severe thunderstorms, or other violent conditions. Hold-up Alarm -- Any police alarm device or system designated to be actuated by a criminal act or other emergency at a specified location or by a victim of a hold-up, robbery, or other emergency or criminal act at a specific location. Home Alarm -- Any alarm device or system which is connected to a residence and not on a maintenance agreement with an alarm agent. Human Error -- Negligence on the part of an employee or employer which causes an alarm to be activated and which activation will initiate a police response. Intrusion -- Any entry into an area or building equipped with one or more police alarm device(s) or system(s) by any person or object whose entry activated, a police alarm device. Local Alarm -- Any device, bell, siren or other sound which indicates an 03005 ORDINANCE NO. 1132 Page 2 intrusion into a business, home, area or premise and which sounds outside the premise, etc. and is not directly connected to a central station and which sound requires a police response. IL Malfunction or mechanical failure of equipment -- Any activation of an alarm system caused by improper maintenance. Permit -- A license to conduct an alarm business, by the State of Texas under the provisions of the Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act. Person -- Any individual, corporation or organization. Police Alarm System or Device -- The term "police alarm system or device" shall mean an assembly of equipment and devices (or a single device such as a solid state unit which plugs directly into a 110 volt AC line) designated to detect and signal an unauthorized intrusion into a premise or to signal an attempted robbery at a protected premise, and with respect to such signal, police are expected to respond. Police Headquarters -- A location housing receiving equipment or publicly owned and servicing the police department of the City of College Station. Subscriber -- A person who contracts for or receives service or maintenance with respect to an alarm system from an alarm business. Section 2. Alarm Business License No person shall conduct an alarm business in the City of College Station unless they are licensed by the State of Texas under the provision of the Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act. Section 3. Registration of Alarm Business Any person desiring to install, lease, sell or maintain alarm devices or systems within the City of College Station shall register with the City of College Station Police Department on a form to be supplied by the College Station Police Department. The application shall contain specific information relating to the type of system(s) that is to be installed and stating thereon the true name, address, and telephone number of the person or company who shall be responsible for the maintenance of the alarm system or device. The holder of an alarm business license shall be responsible for the conduct of his officers, agents, or employees. Section 4. Records Every person and/or alarm agent engaged in the business of operating, installing, leasing, selling or maintaining police alarm systems within the City of College Station shall maintain complete and accurate records of all installations of police alarm systems or devices. These records shall include records of inspection and maintenance, but may exclude financial records, records of alarm components and schematics. Such records of maintenance and inspection shall be furnished to the Chief of Police on a regular basis. Furthermore, upon enactment of this ordinance, the Police Department shall be provided with a complete list of all businesses which have a police alarm, alarm system or device or system. This list is to be held confidential and any disclosure by any member of the College Station Police Department shall be considered a violation of trust and subject the offender to departmental discipline. 03006 ORDINANCE NO. 1132 Page 3 Every subscriber of a police system or device within the City of College Station shall maintain and supply the Chief of Police with a current copy of the names of those persons having legal access to the building or area protected by the police alarm device or system. Section 5. Alarm System Standards No alarm component or device other than a home owner alarm shall be installed in the City of College Station upon enactment of this ordinance unless: 1) it has been approved by the Underwriter Laboratory or other laboratory approved by the Chief of Police and 2) has a battery affixed to it whose source would keep such alarm from becoming accidently activated in case of a power shortage or cutoff from its electrical source. Section 6. Maintenance of Alarm Devices Any subscriber, whether business or home (other than a home owner alarm), which owns or leases a police alarm system shall have conducted a yearly inspec- tion of their alarm system by a licensed alarm company. Such company shall provide the City of College Station Police Department with certification as to this inspection. When false alarms are received by the College Station Police Department due to mechanical malfunction it shall be the responsibility of the alarm agent engaged in the business of operating, installing, leasing, selling or main- taining such alarm systems or devices to repair the alarm. After the fifth and each subsequent false alarm within a twelve month period determined to be caused by mechanical malfunction, the Chief of Police may assess an inspection fee of $50.00 to the alarm agent. The Chief of Police may require the disconnection of the alarm system, component or device after five false alarms due to mechanical malfunction in any twelve month period, until the same is repaired to the satisfaction of the Chief of Police. Section 7. Maintenance of Local Alarm Devices Any person or business which has installed a privately owned alarm system other than a home owner alarm not connected to any alarm agent shall have conducted yearly an inspection of their alarm system by a licensed alarm company. Such company shall provide the City of College Station Police Department with certification as to this inspection. When false alarms are received by the College Station Police Department due to mechanical malfunction it shall be the responsibility of the owner of the alarm system to repair the alarm. After the fifth and each subsequent false alarm within a twelve month period determined to be caused by mechanical malfunction, the Chief of Police may assess an inspection fee of $50.00 to the owner of the alarm device. The Chief of Police may require the disconnection of the alarm system, component or device after five false alarms due to mechanical malfunction in any twelve month period, until the same is repaired to the satisfaction of the Chief of Police. Section 8. Dial Alarm Receiving Equipment After the enactment of this ordinance, no automatic protection devices known as Dial Alarms or Dialers, will be installed and keyed to any police emergency turnkline, used by the police to receive emergency requests or used to provide the public with information. Within sixty (60) days after the of ®ive 207 date of this ordinance all automatic protection devices known as Dialers o ORDINANCE NO. 1132 Page 4 Dial Alarms that were connected to a police emergency number or to a line used by the police to give the general public information, shall be disconnected from such number or line. The owner or lessee of any such device so connected shall be responsible for the disconnection of said device, and obtaining from the City of College Station Police Department the necessary instructions. Section 9. Testing of Equipment No person shall conduct any test or demonstration of a police alarm device or system in the City of College Station without first obtaining permission from the Chief of Police. Permission to conduct such test of a police alarm device or system shall not be necessary when 1) the alarm device is connected to an intermediary receiver and not relayed to police headquarters, and 2) precaution has been taken to insure that such test will not cause police response or alarm to the general public. Section 10. Response To An Activated Alarm Device or System When Notified By The College Station Police Any business, home or premise in the City of College Station which is pro- tected by an alarm device or system shall upon being notified by the College Station Police that such alarm device or system has been activated shall either in person or by representative, come to the scene of the activation to determine the cause of such activation within thirty (30) minutes of being notified. Section 11. False Alarms Due to Human Error Five or more false alarms within a twelve month period determined to be caused by human error will be considered a violation of this ordinance. Any fine for "false alarms" due to human error will be directed toward the subscriber or person who owns or leases a police alarm device or system. Where the police alarm system or device is a local alarm, the fine shall be directed towards the owner of such alarm. Section 12. Penalties Violation of any section of this ordinance shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred ($200.00) dollars and/or termination of the privilege to have an alarm device or system connected on the premise. Section 13. Repeal of Conflicting Ordinances or Orders All ordinances, orders, or parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance, or inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent necessary to give this order full force and effect. Section 14. Severability The sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court, of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this ordinance. PASSED AND APPFOVED this the 28th day of September, 1978. QQ ATTEST L�ROV �JV City Secretar Mayor