In this Chapter the following terms and phrases shall have the following meanings:
(a) “Alarm Administrator.” A person or persons designated by the Sheriff to administer, control and review false alarm reduction efforts and administer the provisions of this chapter.
(b) “Alarm Installation Company.” A person in the business of selling, providing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing an alarm system in an alarm site.
(c) “Alarm Dispatch Request.” A notification to a law enforcement agency that an alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular alarm site.
(d) “Alarm Site.” A single fixed premises or location served by an alarm system or systems. Each unit, if served by a separate alarm system in a multi-unit building or complex, shall be considered a separate alarm site.
(e) “Alarm System.” A device or series of devices, including, but not limited to, hardwired systems and systems interconnected with a radio frequency method such as cellular or private radio signals, which emit or transmit a remote or local audible, visual or electronic signal indicating an alarm condition and intended to summon law enforcement response, including local alarm systems. “Alarm system” does not include an alarm installed in a vehicle or on someone's person unless the vehicle or the personal alarm is permanently located at a site.
(f) “Alarm User.” Any person, who (which) has contracted for monitoring, repair, installation or maintenance service from an alarm installation company or monitoring company for an alarm system, or who (which) owns or operates an alarm system which is not monitored, maintained or repaired under contract.
(g) “Alarm User Awareness Class.” A class conducted for the purpose of educating alarm users about the responsible use, operation, and maintenance of alarm systems and the problems created by false alarms.
(h) “Automatic Voice Dialer.” Any electrical, electronic, mechanical or other device capable of being programmed to send a prerecorded voice message, when activated, over a telephone line, radio or other communication system to the Loudoun County Emergency Communications Center.
(i) “Cancellation.” The process where response is terminated when a monitoring company (designated by the alarm user) for the alarm site notifies the responding law enforcement agency that there is not an existing situation at the alarm site requiring law enforcement response after an alarm dispatch request.
(j) “Conversion.” The transaction or process by which one alarm installation company or monitoring company begins the servicing and/or monitoring of a previously unmonitored alarm system or an alarm system previously serviced and/or monitored by another alarm company.
(k) “Duress Alarm.” A silent alarm system signal generated by the entry of a designated code into an arming station in order to signal that the alarm user is being forced to turn off the system and requires law enforcement response.
(l) “False Alarm.” An alarm dispatch request to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, when the responding Deputy finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense after having completed a timely investigation of the alarm site.
(m) “False Alarm Notification.” A Sheriff's Office form left at the site by a deputy that alerts the alarm user that their alarm system was activated and that a deputy did respond.
(n) “Holdup Alarm.” A silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
(o) “License.” A license issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to conduct business as an alarm installation company and/or monitoring company.
(p) “Local Alarm System.” Any unmonitored alarm system that annunciates an alarm only at the alarm site.
(q) “Monitoring.” The process by which a monitoring company receives signals from an alarm system and relays an alarm dispatch request to the Sheriff's Office for the purpose of summoning law enforcement to the alarm site.
(r) “Monitoring Company.” A person in the business of providing monitoring service.
(s) “One Plus Duress Alarm.” The manual activation of a silent alarm signal by entering at an arming station a code that adds one to the last digit of the normal arm/disarm code (e.g., normal code = 1234, one plus duress code = 1235)
(t) “Panic Alarm.” An audible alarm system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a life threatening or emergency situation requiring law enforcement response.
(u) “Person.” An individual, corporation, partnership, association, school, government, organization or similar entity.
(v) “Registration”:
(1) Alarm user. Information submitted by the alarm user to the Alarm Administrator, which will activate Sheriff's Office response to an alarm site.
(2) Alarm business: Information provided by an alarm installation company or monitoring company to the Alarm Administrator, which will authorize the business to request Sheriff's Office response to an alarm.
(w) “Responder.” An individual capable of reaching the alarm site within one hour and having access to the alarm site, the code to the alarm system and the authority to approve repairs to the alarm system.
(x) “SIA Control Panel Standard CP-01.” The ANSI - American National Standard Institute approved Security Industry Association - SIA CP-01 Control Panel Standard, as may be updated from time to time, that details recommended design features for security system control panels and their associated arming and disarming devices to reduce the incidence of false alarms. Control panels built and tested to this standard by Underwriters Laboratory (UL), or other nationally recognized testing organizations, are marked to state: “Design evaluated in accordance with SIA CP-01 Control Panel Standard Features for False Alarm Reduction.”
(y) “Suspension of Response.” The Alarm Administrator shall suspend law enforcement response to an alarm site by revoking the alarm registration if the alarm user has failed to pay any applicable fines, or has failed to renew the alarm registration.
(z) “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.
(aa) “Verify.” An attempt by the alarm company to verify every alarm signal, except a duress, panic or holdup alarm activation, by attempting to contact at least two (2) persons, designated by the alarm user, prior to requesting Sheriff's Office response to an alarm system signal.
(bb) “Zones.” Location of devices in which an alarm system is divided to indicate the general location from which an alarm system signal is transmitted.
(Ord. 05-02. Passed 3-15-05.)