For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ALARM ADMINISTRATOR. A person or persons designated by the Town Council to administer, control and review alarm applications, permits and alarm dispatch requests.
ALARM BUSINESS. The business, by an individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, installing or monitoring an alarm system in an alarm site.
ALARM DISPATCH REQUEST. A notification to the law enforcement, fire or emergency medical dispatch center by the alarm business that an alarm, either manual or automatic has been activated at a particular alarm site.
ALARM REVIEW AUTHORITY. The Town Council of Harrisburg.
ALARM SITE. A single premises or location served by an alarm system or systems. Each tenancy, if served by a separate alarm system in a multi-tenant building or complex shall be considered a separate alarm site.
ALARM SYSTEM. A device or series of devices, including, but not limited to, systems interconnected with hard wires or with radio frequency signals, which are designed to discourage or detect crime, detect smoke or fire, or summons emergency medical assistance by emitting or transmitting a remote or local audible, visual or electronic signal indicating an alarm condition. ALARM SYSTEM does not include:
(1) An alarm installed on a vehicle unless the vehicle is permanently located at a site; or
(2) An alarm designed to alert only the inhabitants of a premises that does not have a sounding device which can be heard on the exterior of the alarm site.
ALARM USER. Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity who (which) uses an alarm system at its alarm site.
CHIEF. The duly appointed Chief of a Police or Fire Department.
CONVERSION. The transaction or process by which one alarm business begins monitoring of an alarm system previously monitored by another alarm business.
FALSE ALARM DISPATCH. An alarm dispatch request to the dispatch center, when the appropriate responding official (law enforcement officer, emergency medical personnel or Fire Department personnel) finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense, fire emergency or medical emergency after having completed a timely investigation of the alarm site. An alarm dispatch request which is canceled by the alarm business or the alarm user prior to the time the responding agency representatives reach the alarm site shall not be considered a false alarm dispatch.
HOLDUP ALARM. A silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
KEYPAD. A device that allows control of an alarm system by the manual entering of a coded sequence of numbers or letters.
MONITORING. The process by which an alarm business receives signals from alarm systems and relays an alarm dispatch request to the appropriate dispatch center for the purpose of summoning a law enforcement, fire or emergency medical response to the alarm site.
ONE PLUS DURESS ALARM. The manual activation of a silent alarm signal by entering at a keypad a code that adds one to the last digit of the normal arm/disarm code (normal code = 1234; one plus duress code = 1235).
OTHER RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT HEAD. The department head of a civilian operated emergency dispatch center.
PERSON. An individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization or similar entity.
TAKEOVER. The transaction or process by which an alarm user takes over control of an existing alarm system which was previously controlled by another alarm user.
12-MONTH PERIOD. Shall be based on calendar months, which period shall run from the occurrence of the first false alarm.
VERIFY. An attempt, by the alarm business, or its representative, to contact the alarm site by telephonic or other electronic means, whether or not actual contact with a person is made, before requesting a dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request.
(Ord. passed 3-8-99)