An alarm system monitoring company engaging in business activities in the county shall:
(1) Obtain all necessary permits as required by the county and licenses by the State of South Carolina;
(2) Maintain a current record, accessible to the sheriff’s office 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;
(3) Provide the sheriff’s office such information as the sheriff 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;
(4) 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 article relating to penalties for false alarms and the possibility of no sheriff’s office response to alarm systems experiencing excessive false alarms;
(5) Maintain a verification process, as specified in § 11-48, for all monitored security alarm systems in order to prevent unnecessary sheriff’s office dispatches resulting from false alarms;
(6) Communicate requests for sheriff’s office response to the sheriff’s office in a manner specified by the sheriff;
(7) Communicate requests for cancellations of sheriff’s office response in a manner specified by the sheriff;
(8) Maintain a record of all requests for sheriff’s office response to an alarm, including: the date and time of the alarm and request for sheriff’s office 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
(9) Work cooperatively with the alarm system user and the sheriff in order to determine the cause of any false alarm and to prevent recurrences.
(1976 Code, § 11-47) (Ord. 3354, § 1, passed 4-18-2000)