Chapter 8.20
ALARM SYSTEMS
Sections:
8.20.030 Alarm system requirements.
8.20.050 Alarm business duties.
8.20.060 Alarm system monitoring company duties.
8.20.080 Excessive false alarms – Penalties.
8.20.090 No response to premises with excessive false alarms.
8.20.100 Administrative appeal hearing.
8.20.010 Purpose.
A. The purpose of this chapter is to encourage alarm users, alarm businesses, and alarm monitoring companies to assume increased responsibility for the mechanical/electrical reliability and proper use of alarm systems and to prevent unnecessary police emergency response to false alarms, thereby to protect the emergency response capability of the City from misuse.
B. The obligation of complying with this chapter and liability for failing to do so is placed on the parties responsible for owning, operating, monitoring or maintaining alarm systems. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.020 Definitions.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
A. “Alarm business” means the business by an individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, monitoring, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing an alarm system or causing to be sold, leased, maintained, monitored, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed an alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility.
B. “Alarm dispatch request” means a notification to a law enforcement agency by an alarm business or another party that an alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular alarm site.
C. “Alarm monitoring company” means an individual, partnership, corporation or other form of association that engages in the business of monitoring property, burglary, robbery or panic alarms and reporting activation of the alarm system to a law enforcement agency.
D. “Alarm site” means 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, is a separate alarm site.
E. “Alarm system” means any system, device or mechanism which, when activated, transmits a signal or message to a private alarm monitoring company or some other entity, or emits an audible or visible signal that can be heard or seen by persons outside the protected premises, or transmits a signal beyond the premises in some other fashion, to report a crime in progress or other crisis situation requiring a police response. “Alarm system” does not include a fire alarm system, medical alert system or an alarm installed on a motor vehicle.
F. “Alarm user” means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind and which uses an alarm system at its alarm site.
G. “Department” means the City of SeaTac Police Department.
H. “Department’s communication center” means the Department’s dispatch center which receives requests for service for police and fire, including the communications center of the King County Sheriff’s Office.
I. “False alarm” means the activation of any combination of burglary, robbery, panic or yard alarm when no crime is being committed or attempted on the premises. An alarm is presumed false if the law enforcement officers responding to the alarm site do not locate any evidence of an intrusion or commission of an unlawful act or emergency on the premises which might have caused the alarm to sound. However, “false alarm” does not include an alarm caused by extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm business operator or alarm user. An alarm dispatch request that is canceled by the alarm system monitoring company or the alarm system user before arrival of law enforcement officers to the alarm site is not a false alarm for the purposes of fine assessment or no-response status designation.
J. “Monitoring” means the process by which an alarm business receives signals from the alarm system and relays an alarm dispatch request to the proper jurisdiction for the purpose of summoning police response to the alarm site.
K. “No response” means that law enforcement officers may not be dispatched to investigate a report of an alarm dispatch request.
L. “Person” means a human being, business, corporation, partnership, or other business enterprise.
M. “Police Chief” means the Chief of the City of SeaTac Police Department.
N. “Police Department” means the City of SeaTac Police Department.
O. “Premises” means an area or building or a portion of an area or building protected by an alarm system.
P. “Sheriff” means the Sheriff of King County.
Q. “Verification” means an attempt by the alarm business, or its representative, to contact the alarm site by telephonic or other electronic means, with or without actual contact with an alarm system user or representative, before an alarm dispatch request is made. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.030 Alarm system requirements.
A. An alarm system may not have an alarm signal audible on the exterior of an alarm site that sounds longer than ten (10) minutes after being activated. Nothing in this section shall limit the duration of a fire or other evacuation alarm during a bona fide emergency when the sound may assist in saving life or avoiding injury.
B. The installation or use of any electric, electronic or mechanical security device which gives automatic notice to the communications center of the Sheriff’s Office, the Department, or the Department’s Communication Center is prohibited, except by federal, state or local government agencies acting with the permission of the Police Chief. This provision specifically includes devices utilizing the public telephone system.
C. Violation of this section is a misdemeanor. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.040 Alarm user duties.
Every alarm user in the City of SeaTac:
A. Shall submit a contact card to be on file in the Department’s communications center, a notice of the telephone numbers at which the person or persons authorized to enter the premises can be reached to respond;
B. Shall maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarms;
C. Shall make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a representative to respond to the alarm site within one (1) hour when notified by the Department or law enforcement officers to deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access to the premises or to provide security for the premises; and
D. Shall not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than an occurrence of an event for which the alarm system was intended to report.
E. Shall display upon the premises the street address at or near the front of the premises and at other places where access is available, such as from an alley or parking lot. The street address shall be clearly visible and readable from the exterior of the premises. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.050 Alarm business duties.
Every alarm business engaging in business activities in the City of SeaTac shall:
A. Submit standard user form instructions to the Police Chief, which provide information to enable the alarm user to operate the alarm system at any time. If the Police Chief finds the instructions are incomplete, unclear, or inadequate, the Police Chief will require the alarm business to revise the instructions. Copies of any revised instructions created under this subsection shall be furnished to the alarm user.
B. Provide the Police Chief information about the nature of its alarm systems, including property alarms, burglary alarms, robbery alarms, and panic alarms, its method of monitoring, its program for preventing false alarms, and its method of disconnecting audible alarms.
C. Furnish the alarm user with standard user form instructions, as submitted to the Police Chief pursuant to subsection A of this section. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.060 Alarm system monitoring company duties.
Every alarm system monitoring company engaging in business activities in the City of SeaTac shall:
A. Establish a process for alarm verification. The verification process shall not take more than five (5) minutes, calculated from the time that the alarm signal has been accepted by the alarm business monitoring the system, until a decision is made whether to call for a police dispatch. The means of verification may include one (1) or more of the following:
1. The establishment of voice communication with an authorized person at or near the premises who will indicate whether or not the need for immediate police assistance or investigation exists;
2. A feature that permits the alarm system user or a person authorized by the user to send a special signal to the alarm system monitoring company calling for a police dispatch;
3. The installation of a video system that provides the alarm system monitoring company, when the signal is received, with the ability to ascertain that activity is occurring which warrants immediate police assistance or investigation;
4. A confirmation that a signal reflects a need for immediate police assistance or investigation either by the alarm system user or a person at or near the premises before dispatching police; or
5. An alternate system that the Police Chief determines has, or is likely to have, a high degree of reliability;
B. Coordinate with the Department’s communication center to develop a process to cancel an alarm dispatch that is consistent with the communication center’s standard operating procedures;
C. Attempt to verify whether an actual crime is being committed at the alarm site and report the results of its verification attempt to the Department or the Department’s communication center;
D. Request cancellation of an alarm dispatch request upon verifying no event has occurred that the alarm system was intended to report; and
E. Describe in plain language, other than a zone number, the specific location on the premises of the point of entry or unauthorized access. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.070 False alarms.
A. It is unlawful for any alarm user, through error, omission or mechanical/electrical failure to cause a false alarm.
B. The Department shall notify the alarm user by first class mail of each false alarm, the fine, and the consequences of the failure to pay the fine. The Department shall also inform the alarm user of the right to appeal the validity of the false alarm determination, as provided in SMC 8.20.100.
C. If the fine imposed under this section has not been received by the City of SeaTac within fifteen (15) days of the date of notice, and there is no appeal pending on the validity of the false alarm, a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) late fee shall be assessed. The Department shall send the alarm user a notice of late fee by first class mail. If payment of the fine and late fee is not received within twenty (20) days of the date the notice of late fee was mailed, the Police Chief may initiate the no response process.
D. The Department shall issue notice of infraction to an alarm user following a violation of this section. The Department shall notify the SeaTac Department of Finance of the charges, fees and penalties that are to be collected. The SeaTac Department of Finance shall collect charges, fees and penalties not properly canceled and discharged. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.080 Excessive false alarms – Penalties.
A. For a response to premises at which a false alarm has occurred, the person having or maintaining the alarm system shall within seven (7) days’ notice to do so make a written report to the Department on forms prescribed by the Department setting forth the cause of the false alarm, the corrective action taken and such other information as the Department may require to determine the cause of the false alarm and corrective action necessary.
B. Penalties will be assessed by the Department for excessive false alarms according to the following schedule:
1. One (1) or fewer false alarms in a consecutive six (6) month period – no charge.
2. Two (2) or more false alarms in a consecutive six (6) month period – one hundred dollar ($100.00) fine.
3. Late fee – twenty-five dollar ($25.00) fine. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.090 No response to premises with excessive false alarms.
A. After the third false alarm in a six (6) month consecutive period, or the failure to pay any outstanding penalties imposed under this chapter, the Department shall send a notification to the alarm user and the alarm monitoring company, if known, by first class mail, that contains the following information:
1. That the third false alarm has occurred, or that there is an unpaid penalty imposed under this chapter; and
2. That if another false alarm occurs within the six (6) month period, or if the outstanding penalty remains unpaid for twenty (20) days from the date of notice, the Department will not respond to any subsequent alarm activations without the approval of the Police Chief, or a visual verification.
B. 1. After the fourth false alarm within a consecutive six (6) month period, and after notice was sent to the alarm user as prescribed by subsection A of this section, the Department may not respond to subsequent alarms without approval of the Police Chief. If police response is suspended, the Police Chief shall send a notification of no response status to:
a. The Department’s communication center;
b. The alarm user, by first class mail; and
c. The alarm user’s alarm monitoring company, if known, by first class mail.
2. The notice must include the following:
a. That the approval of the Police Chief for reinstatement may only be obtained by applying in writing for the reinstatement. The Police Chief may reinstate the alarm user upon a finding that reasonable effort has been made to correct the false alarms, which may include documentation from an alarm business, stating that the alarm system is operating properly and that the alarm user’s agents are properly trained in the alarm system’s operation, and full payment has been made for any outstanding penalties due to the City of SeaTac for false alarms. The City of SeaTac and the Department are not responsible for costs incurred by the alarm user to qualify for reinstatement;
b. That the reinstated alarm users will incur penalties for any false alarm responses after reinstatement;
c. That the alarm user has the right to contest the validity of a false alarm determination through an administrative appeal hearing as set forth in SMC 8.20.100;
d. In the event that the no response process has been initiated solely due to nonpayment of penalties the Police Chief will reinstate the alarm user upon finding that all outstanding penalties have been paid; and
e. Any application for reinstatement shall be done in writing, on forms prescribed by the Department.
C. The suspension of police response may begin no sooner than twenty (20) days after the notice of no response status was sent by first class mail to the alarm user unless a written request for an appeal hearing has been filed in the required time period under this chapter.
D. The suspension of response under this chapter shall apply only to burglary and property alarm systems and shall not apply to any robbery, panic, or duress alarms. However, all such alarms shall be construed in determining the total number of false alarms under this chapter. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.100 Administrative appeal hearing.
A. An alarm user may appeal the validity of a false alarm determination to the Police Chief. The appeal shall be in writing and shall be requested within ten (10) days of the notice of violation received from the Department or Police Chief. Failure to contest the false alarm determination in the required time period results in a conclusive presumption for all purposes that the alarm was false.
B. If a hearing is requested, written notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be served on the user by the Police Chief, by first class mail, at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing, which shall not be more than thirty (30) nor less than ten (10) days after the filing of the request for hearing.
C. The hearing shall be before the Police Chief or his/her designee. The alarm user and a representative of the Police Department shall have the right to present written and oral evidence. If the Police Chief or his/her designee determines that the false alarms alleged occurred, he/she will issue written findings waiving, expunging or entering the false alarm designation on an alarm user’s record. If false alarm designations are entered on the alarm user’s record, the Department and/or the City of SeaTac shall pursue the collection of the penalties. If the civil penalty is not found to be proper, then the alarm user shall bear no costs.
D. If a hearing is canceled more than ten (10) days after its request, then a cancellation fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) must be paid in addition to the amount of any penalties imposed under this chapter.
E. The decision made by the Administrative Hearing Officer may be appealed to the King County District Court. The appeal must be filed within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the decision of the Police Chief. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)
8.20.110 Severability.
If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. (Ord. 03-1029 § 2)