A. In exercising his or her discretion to make a dispatch in response to a property or burglary alarm, the Chief of Police may disregard a call for dispatch when:
1. The call comes from or is prompted by a property alarm or burglary alarm that has a record of sending four (4) false alarms within a period of twelve (12) months or from an alarm system user who has an outstanding false alarm fee balance of sixty (60) or more days from the date that the Department mails or transmits the notice described in CMC Section 5.40.140(A); and
2. The call is the only basis for making such a dispatch.
The Chief may consider such a call as an additional factor in making his or her decision to order a dispatch when a verification from an individual at the premises, or other independent evidence, shows a need for police assistance at the premises.
B. To discourage false alarms, the Chief may adopt a process of sending a letter by regular mail informing the alarm system user of record of the false alarm history, the need to take corrective action, and the prospect that four (4) false alarms within a period of twelve (12) months shall result in the automatic signals being disregarded and a verification being required or other independent information showing a need for such a dispatch before a dispatch will be made to the premises.
C. Before acting as authorized in subsection A of this section, the Chief shall send or deliver a notice to the alarm system user that:
1. Four (4) false alarms occurred within a period of twelve (12) months or a false alarm fee is outstanding for a period of sixty (60) or more days;
2. The remedy authorized in subsection A may be taken;
3. The alarm system user may request a hearing before the Chief or his designee and explain why the Chief should not take the proposed action; if no hearing is requested, the Chico Police Department will after ten (10) business days disregard automatic signals from the premises without verification or other independent information showing a need for such dispatch; and
4. A requirement of an in-person communication or verification may remain in effect for a period of three hundred sixty-five (365) days.
D. If a hearing is requested, the Chief shall schedule the hearing within ten (10) business days. Both the alarm user and a representative from the alarm system monitoring company are required to attend. If the alarm user is a self-monitored alarm system user, the self-monitored alarm system user is required to attend. The Chief may take into consideration such factors as the steps that the alarm system user or alarm system monitoring company has taken or is taking to correct the problem; the incidence of crime in the area; the facts and circumstances of the false alarms; and other relevant information presented by the alarm user or the alarm system monitoring company.
E. The Chief may suspend or cancel the remedy under subsection A if he or she determines that the alarm system has been corrected or the user has taken corrective action to prevent the recurrence of false alarms.
(Ord. 2452, Ord. 2460 §1 (part))