Chapter 12.50
ALARMS1
Sections:
12.50.020 Alarm users registration required.
12.50.030 Service fees for false alarms.
12.50.040 No response to excessive false alarms.
12.50.050 Additional duties of alarm user.
12.50.060 Alarm business duties.
12.50.070 Nonpermitted system and uses.
12.50.080 Special registrations.
12.50.090 Administrative hearing.
12.50.100 Violations – Penalties.
12.50.010 Definitions.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. Terms not defined here are defined according to FWRC 1.05.020.
“Alarm business” means the business of selling, leasing, maintaining, monitoring, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed any alarm system on real property.
“Alarm system” means any system, device or mechanism which, when activated, transmits a telephone message to a private monitoring company or some other number, 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, except any system, device or mechanism primarily protecting a motor vehicle, or a medical alarm.
“Alarm user” means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or organization of any kind to whom a registration is required under this chapter.
“Automatic dialing device” means a device that is interconnected to a telephone line and is programmed to select a predetermined telephone number and transmit by voice message or code signal an emergency message indicating a need for emergency response. Such a device is an alarm system.
“Burglary alarm system” means an alarm system designed or used for detection and reporting of an unauthorized entry or attempted unauthorized entry upon real property protected by the system.
“Economically disadvantaged person” means a person receiving public assistance.
“False alarm” means the activation of any burglary and/or robbery alarm system when no crime is being committed or attempted on the premises. An alarm shall be presumed to be false if the police officers responding 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, but does not include alarms caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm business operator or alarm user.
“Interconnect” means to connect an alarm system including an automatic dialing device to a telephone line, either directly or through a mechanical device that utilizes a telephone, for the purpose of using the telephone line to transmit a message upon the activation of the alarm system.
“No response” means that police officers shall not be dispatched to investigate a report of an alarm signal.
“Panic/trouble alarm” means an alarm system designed or used for alerting police of the need for immediate assistance or aid in order to avoid injury or serious bodily harm.
“Premises” means any area and any portion of any area protected by an alarm system.
“Registration year” means July 1st to and including June 30th.
“Robbery alarm system” means an alarm system designed or used for alerting others of a robbery or other crime in progress which involves potential serious bodily injury or death.
“System subscriber” means a person, corporation, firm, partnership, association, company, organization or other business entity who purchased or contracted for any alarm system.
“Verification” means an independent method of determining that a signal from an automatic alarm system reflects a need for immediate police assistance or investigation.
(Ord. No. 09-600, § 2, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 93-193, § 1, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-1.)
12.50.020 Alarm users registration required.
(1) No person shall operate or use an alarm system on any premises within the city of Federal Way, under that person’s control, without first having obtained from the police department a separate registration for each premises protected by an alarm system.
(2) The police department may not respond to any alarm system for which a registration has not first been obtained.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to be an operator or user of an alarm system if:
(a) The person controls both the alarm system and the premises upon which it is installed; or
(b) The person controls the premises and is the subscriber, client or tenant of the system subscriber; or
(c) The person is the system subscriber or alarm user.
(4) All persons required to obtain a registration must complete a registration application form which is provided by the police department. Information required to be provided on the registration application form includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Subscriber’s and/or alarm user’s name, address and telephone number(s);
(b) Names and telephone numbers of three additional persons who will respond in the event of alarm activation in the absence of the alarm user, and said person will provide access to premises and be able to deactivate alarm, or said persons will provide information on whom to contact for access;
(c) The electrical inspection permit number;
(d) Name of the alarm business responsible for regular maintenance and that company’s electrical contractor’s license number;
(e) The information required in subsections (4)(c) and (d) of this section shall not apply to alarms which are installed by the homeowner/tenant;
(f) The information required in subsection (4)(c) of this section shall not apply to (a) existing alarms or (b) alarms which are installed in multiple-tenant buildings.
(5) Failure to complete the required information will result in automatic denial of the registration.
(6) Each registration shall be given a number which shall not be transferable.
(7) Completed applications for an alarm user’s registration and a registration fee as set forth in the city’s annual fee schedule shall be filed with the police department.
(8) A penalty fee as set forth in the city’s annual fee schedule will be charged, in addition to the registration fee provided in subsection (7) of this section, to a user who fails to obtain a registration within 30 days after the system becomes operative, or to a current user who fails to obtain a registration.
(9) Registration fees shall be payable to the city of Federal Way and deposited into the city’s general fund to be used exclusively for the direct or indirect support of law enforcement activities.
(10) Any person who owns, operates, or possesses any alarm system within the city of Federal Way, which does not conform to the requirements of this chapter, shall disconnect that alarm and render it inoperable or alter it in accordance with this chapter no later than July 31, 1994.
(11) If a residential alarm user is over the age of 62, or is an economically disadvantaged person and is a resident of the residence, and if no business is conducted in the residence, a registration may be obtained from the police department according to subsection (4) of this section without the payment of a fee.
(12) The following shall be required to obtain a registration under this chapter, but shall not be required to pay any fee:
(a) Businesses which are nonprofit organizations, including but not limited to religious, civic, charitable, benevolent, nonprofit, cultural, governmental or youth organizations.
(13) Alarm user shall notify police department, within 10 days, of any change of information from that contained on the registration application.
(Ord. No. 11-693, § 1, 7-5-11; Ord. No. 93-193, § 2, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-2.)
12.50.030 Service fees for false alarms.
(1) Service fees will be assessed by the chief of police or designee for false alarms during the registration year as outlined in the city’s annual fee schedule.
(2) The chief of police or designee shall send a notice of false alarm determination to the alarm user and the alarm business by regular mail for the second and any subsequent false alarms. The notice shall include the amount of the service fee and the consequences of the failure to pay the service fee. The chief of police or designee shall also inform the alarm user of the right to appeal the validity of the false alarm determination, as provided in FWRC 12.50.090. If the service fee has not been received in the police department within 50 days from the day the notice of service fee was mailed by the police department, and there is no appeal pending on the validity of the false alarm, the chief of police or designee shall send the notice of service fee by certified mail along with a notice of late fee as set forth in the city’s annual fee schedule. If payment is not received within 14 days of the day the notice of late fee was mailed, the chief of police or designee may initiate the no-response process and enforcement of penalties.
(Ord. No. 11-693, § 2, 7-5-11; Ord. No. 09-599, § 1, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 07-573, § 2, 12-4-07; Ord. No. 93-193, § 3, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-3.)
12.50.040 No response to excessive false alarms.
(1) After the sixth false alarm in a registration year, the chief of police or designee shall send a notification to the alarm user by mail, which will contain the following:
(a) That the sixth false alarm has occurred.
(b) That if any additional false alarms occur within the remainder of the registration year, the police may not respond to any subsequent alarms without the approval of the chief of police or designee and the alarm user registration can be revoked.
(c) That the approval of the chief of police or designee can only be obtained by applying in writing for reinstatement. The chief of police or designee may reinstate the alarm user upon a finding that reasonable effort has been made to correct the false alarms, which includes consideration of a letter from user’s alarm company, duly registered to do business in the city of Federal Way, which states the alarm system is operating properly and the alarm user’s(s’) agents are properly trained in the alarm system operation. The city of Federal Way shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by the user to qualify for reinstatement.
(d) That reinstated users will be billed for any false alarm responses after reinstatement, and will be subject to further revocation after any more false alarm responses during the remainder of the registration year. Registrations will not be reinstated if there are any outstanding fees due.
(e) That the alarm user has the right to contest the validity of a false alarm determination through a false alarm validity hearing as set forth in FWRC 12.50.090.
(2) After the sixth false alarm within a registration year, or in case of a delinquent payment pursuant to FWRC 12.50.030, there may be no police response to subsequent alarms without approval of the chief of police or designee. If police response is suspended, the chief of police or designee shall send a notification of the suspension to:
(a) The department’s communications center;
(b) The department;
(c) The alarm user by certified mail; and
(d) The persons listed on the alarm user’s registration who are to be contacted in case of an emergency, by certified mail.
(3) The suspension of police response to an alarm shall begin 14 days after the date of service of the notice of suspension of service to the alarm user unless a written request for a false alarm validity hearing has been made in the required time period as set forth in FWRC 12.50.090.
(Ord. No. 11-693, § 3, 7-5-11; Ord. No. 09-599, § 2, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 93-193, § 4, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-4.)
12.50.050 Additional duties of alarm user.
(1) An alarm user shall display the registration decal at or near the main entrance of any premises where an alarm is used or operated, which shall be clearly visible and readable from the exterior of the premises.
(2) An alarm user shall display 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.
(3) If requested to do so by the department, the alarm user or his or her designee shall respond to a premises following activation of an alarm system within a reasonable time, and in any event, within one hour after said notification.
(Ord. No. 09-599, § 3, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 93-193, § 5, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-5.)
12.50.060 Alarm business duties.
Every alarm system monitoring company engaging in business activities in the city of Federal Way shall:
(1) Be registered to do business in the city of Federal Way.
(2) Submit standard user form instructions to the police chief. If the police chief finds the instructions are incoherent, unclear, or inadequate, the police chief may require the alarm business to revise the instructions to comply with subsection (4) of this section and then to distribute the revised instructions to its alarm users.
(3) Provide the police chief information about the nature of its 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.
(4) Furnish the user with instructions that provide information to enable the user to operate the alarm system properly and information on how to obtain service for the alarm system at any time. The alarm business shall also inform each alarm user of the requirement to obtain a registration and where it can be obtained.
(5) Establish a process for alarm verification. The verification process shall not take more than five 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 or more of the following:
(a) The establishment of voice communication with an authorized person at or near the premises who may indicate whether or not need for immediate police assistance or investigation exists;
(b) 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 that will cancel an alarm immediately after it has been sent and prevent the monitoring company calling for a police dispatch;
(c) 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 assistant or investigation;
(d) 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
(e) An alternate system that the police chief determines has, or is likely to have, a high degree of reliability.
(6) 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.
(7) Provide the department’s communication center when requesting an alarm response with the registration number for that premise, and the department need not respond if the registration number if not provided.
(Ord. No. 09-598, § 1, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 93-193, § 6, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-6.)
12.50.070 Nonpermitted system and uses.
(1) No person shall operate or use an alarm system which emits an audible sound where such emission does not automatically cease within 15 minutes. 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.
(2) No person shall use an alarm system to protect more than one business and/or private residence without receiving a separate registration for each business and/or private residence to be protected.
(3) No person shall operate or use any alarm system for which the registration has been revoked.
(4) No person shall operate or use any alarm system which automatically dials the department directly and delivers a prerecorded message.
(Ord. No. 93-193, § 7, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-7.)
12.50.080 Special registrations.
(1) An alarm user required by federal, state, county or municipal law, regulation, rule or ordinance to install, maintain and operate an alarm system shall be subject to the alarm system regulations, provided:
(a) A registration shall be designated a special alarm user’s registration.
(b) A special alarm user’s registration for a system that has five false alarms in a registration year shall not be subject to the no response procedure and shall pay the applicable service fees.
(2) An alarm user that is a governmental political unit shall be subject to this chapter, but a registration shall be issued without payment of a registration fee and shall not be subject to service fees or the imposition of any penalty provided herein.
(Ord. No. 11-693, § 4, 7-5-11; Ord. No. 93-193, § 8, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-8.)
12.50.090 Administrative hearing.
(1) An alarm user may appeal the validity of a false alarm determination or the assessment of penalties to the chief of police or designee, by filing a written notice of appeal with the chief of police or designee within 14 calendar days from the date of service of the notice of a false alarm or notice of any service fee. Service shall be deemed complete upon the third day following the day upon which the notice is placed in the mail, unless the third day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, in which event service shall be deemed complete on the first day other than a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday following the third day. The city may also request a hearing before the chief of police or designee to assess costs, modify previous orders, or to enter other orders as needed. 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.
(2) Within 10 days of the clerk’s receipt of the appeal, the chief of police or designee shall set a public hearing for a date within 30 days of the clerk’s receipt of the appeal. Written notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be served on the user by the chief of police or designee, by certified mail, at least 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing.
(3) The hearing shall be before the chief of police or designee. The alarm user and the city shall have the right to present written and oral evidence. If the hearing officer finds that the appellant has proven by a preponderance of evidence that an alleged false alarm did not occur during the registration year, the hearing officer shall vacate the false alarm determination. If the hearing officer finds that the appellant has proven by a preponderance of evidence that any penalties are improper, the hearing officer shall waive them. Otherwise, the hearing officer shall affirm the false alarm determination and penalties. The hearing officer shall issue a written decision, including findings of fact, conclusions, and order, within 14 days of the hearing. If false alarm determinations are affirmed, the chief of police or designee shall pursue the collection of the service fees. If the service fee is not found to be proper, then the alarm user shall bear no costs.
(4) If a hearing is canceled more than 10 days after its request, then a cancellation fee as set forth in the city’s annual fee schedule must be paid.
(Ord. No. 11-693, § 5, 7-5-11; Ord. No. 09-599, § 4, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 93-193, § 9, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-9.)
12.50.100 Violations – Penalties.
In addition to any fees that may be assessed pursuant to this chapter, a violation of any provision of this chapter is a civil infraction pursuant to Chapter 1.15 FWRC.
(Ord. No. 11-693, § 6, 7-5-11; Ord. No. 09-599, § 5, 1-6-09; Ord. No. 93-193, § 10, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-10.)
12.50.110 Severability.
If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
(Ord. No. 93-193, § 11, 11-9-93. Code 2001 § 3-11.)
Cross references: Private security systems, Chapter 12.20 FWRC; buildings and building regulations, FWRC Title 13.