For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
Alarm company. The full or part-time business by an individual, partnership, corporation, or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, installing or monitoring any alarm system or causing to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced moved, installed or monitored any alarm system in an alarm site.
Alarm coordinator. The person designated by the Police Chief to administer, control and review false alarm reduction efforts and to issue permits and enforce the provisions of this article.
Alarm notification. A notification to police that an alarm has been activated at a particular alarm site.
Alarm site. A single, fixed premise or location having one street address 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. Any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence of an illegal entry or other activity and intended to summon police.
Alarm user. Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind who uses or is in control of an alarm system at its alarm site.
Automatic dialing device. An electrical, electronic, mechanical or other device capable of being programmed to send a prerecorded message, when activated, over a telephone line, radio or other communication system.
Burglary alarm system. An alarm system signaling an entry or attempted entry into the area protected by the system.
Calendar year. A period of one year beginning at midnight on January 1 and ending at midnight on December 31.
Cancellation. The process by which an alarm company providing monitoring verifies with the alarm user or responsible party that a false dispatch has occurred and that there is not an existing situation at the alarm site requiring a police response, and notifies the police department prior to the arrival of the responding officer(s).
Conversion. The transaction or process by which one alarm company begins monitoring of a previously unmonitored alarm system or an alarm system previously monitored by another alarm company.
Duress alarm. A silent alarm system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a life threatening situation or a crime in progress requiring a police response.
False alarm. An alarm notification to the police department, when the responding officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense after having completed a timely inspection of the alarm site. For the purposes of this article, this term does not include an alarm signal caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm company or alarm user. Unless otherwise provided, the Police Chief shall be the sole and exclusive judge of whether an alarm is a false alarm for the purpose of this section.
Permit year. The period beginning on the date of the issuance of an alarm user's permit and extending for 12 months thereafter.
Person. An individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization or similar entity.
Police Chief. The Police Chief for the city police department or his designated representative.
Police department. The city police department. For the purposes of this article, this term includes the emergency communications center for the city.
Robbery alarm system. An alarm system designed to generate a silent alarm signal by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
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.
Verify. An attempt, by the alarm company 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 police response, in an attempt to avoid the unnecessary dispatch of police.
(Ord. No. 3075, § 2, 10-25-01)