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r ORDINANCE NO. 18,069
2 531
3 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE NO. 17,904
4 (December 22, 1998) CONCERNING THE EXCESS FALSE
s ALARMS IN THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, TO DESIGNATE
6 WHO MAY ENFORCE THE ORDINANCE AGAINST
7 ALARM USERS CAUSING EXCESS RESPONSE TO FALSE
8 ALARMS, TO PROVIDE FOR ENHANCED CIVIL
9 PENALTIES, TO PROVIDE AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE
10 TO PROSECUTION UNDER THE ORDINANCE, AND TO
11 PROVIDE FOR THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
12 TO DEVELOP A SYSTEM TO COLLECT AND PROVIDE
13 INFORMATION REGARDING FALSE ALARMS TO THE
14 PROPER ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY, DECLARING AN
15 EMERGENCY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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17 WHEREAS, the Little Rock Board of Directors passed Ordinance No. 17,904,
1s on December 22, 1998, which addressed excess false alarms in the Citv of Little Rock;
19 and
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20 WHEREAS, that. Ordinance should be amended to provide for instances in which
21 more than one type of emergency services may respond to the samc call, to clearly
22 designate who may enforce the Ordinance, and to provide for the Office of Management
23 Support to develop a system to collect and provide information regarding false alarms
24 to the proper enforcement authority; and
25 WHEREAS, it has been brought to the attention of the Little Rock Board of
26 Directors that unnecessary time and resources are expended by the Little Rock Police
27 Department, the Little Rock Fire Department, and the Little Rock Ambulance
28 Authority, to respond to alarms that turn out to be malfunctions or otherwise
29 unwarranted; and
30 WHEREAS, any response by emergency personnel and equipment can create a
31 risk of harm to the general public because of the need to promptly and swiftly deal with
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I emergency situations, so responding to an unnecessary alarm is an unwarranted risk to
2 the general public; and 53Z
3 WHEREAS, a review of actions taken by other communities facing this problem,
4 including the ordinances that have been drafted in response to the problem, reveals that
s often these unnecessary alarms are the result of the property owner or alarm company's
6 failure to provide proper maintenance and upkeep of the alarm systems; and
7 WHEREAS, the creation of a sanction for unnecessary alarms has resulted in a
8 significant decrease in the number of alarms in these communities.
9 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY BOARD OF
to DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS:
I 1 SECTION 1. Little Rock, Ark., Ordinance No. 17,904 (December 22, 1998) is hereby
12 amended to read as follows:
13 SECTION 1. Title. This Ordinance may be known and cited as the "False Alarm
14 Reduction Ordinance."
is SECTION 2. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to encourage alarm
16 owners and alarm monitoring businesses to assume appropriate responsibility for the
17 maintenance and mechanical reliability of alarm systems; to prevent unnecessary
18 responses to unwarranted or false alarms by emergency personnel and equipment; and,
19 to protect all citizens from the dangers of emergency personnel and equipment being
20 inappropriately utilized because of answers to unwarranted alarms.
21 SECTION 3. Definitions. The following words as used in this ordinance shall
22 be defined as follows unless the context clearly indicates differently.
23 (A) "Alarm agent" means any individual, partnership, corporation or other
24 entity in the business of monitoring, or causing to be monitored, any Alarm System in
25 or upon any building, structure, or facility.
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1 (B) "Alarm system" means any assembly of electrical, electronic or mechanical
2 equipment arranged to signal the occurrence of an illegal entry or other activity requiring
3 urgent attention and to which Emergency Personnel are expected to respond.
4 (c) "Alarm user" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, company,
5 or organization of any kind, which owns, controls, or occupies any building, structure,
6 or facility wherein an Alarm System is maintained unless the system is designed and
7 intended only to alert persons inside the building, structure, or facility and does not
s employ an audible signal emitting sounds, a flashing light, or a beacon designated to
9 signal persons outside the premises.
10 (D) "Automatic Dialing Device" means a device that is interconnected to a
11 telephone line and is programmed to select a predetermined telephone number and
12 transmit by voice message or code signal an emergency message indicating a need for
13 emergency.
14 (E) "Emergency personnel" means any police, fire, or government -owned
15 emergency medical health care service.
16 (F) "False Alarm" means any request for immediate assistance of emergency
17 personnel that is not a response to an actual emergency situation or threatened criminal
Is activity. The term False Alarm includes any negligently or accidentally activated signals,
19 as well as any signal that is the result of faulty, malfunctioning, or improperly installed
20 or maintained equipment, or as a result of an act of God, or any signal or call of any type
21 that is purposely activated to summon a law enforcement agency or fire department in
22 a non - emergency situation. The term "False Alarm" also includes any emergency call for
23 help sent to a hospital, or other entity providing such a service directly to the customer,
24 which results in an emergency ambulance response that is later determined to be totally
25 unnecessary.
26 (G) "Monitoring Station" means an office to which an Alarm System is
27 connected so operators can supervise either the alarm circuits or answer incoming alarm
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I telephone signals, and where human operators then notify the City 9 -1 -1 center or a
2 private security agency to investigate the alarm
3 (H) Sound emission cutoff feature" means a feature of an alarm system which
4 will cause an audible alarm to stop ernitting sound -within fifteen (15) minutes of being
5 activated.
6 SECTION 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this ordinance, the terra
7 False ANann does not include:
S (A) A signal willfully activated by an Alarm User, or by an Alarm
9 Agent, upon a good faith belief that an actual or threatened crime
to is about to occur.
u (B) A signal from a health care facility, hotel, or residential housing
12 . facility which maintains its w ,il alarm system and has trair.;:d
13 personnel on staff to deal with alarm maintenance.
14 SECTION i. Monitoring Stations. (A) No Monitoring Station shall inonitru
15 an Alarm System within the City of Little Rock: unless they have first provided the City
16 Office of Emergency Services, or such other office designated by the Citv Manager, v` th.
17 the following inforuaticn:
Is (1) Each location where a monitoring station is to be located;
19 (2) The name, address, and telephone number of the Monitoring
20 Station; and,
21 (3). The type of business organiza.don that it is ( individual, partnership,
22 or corporation).
23 (R) If the Monitoring Station is an individual proprietorship, the name, address.
24 and telephone number of each partner shall also be provided. If the Monitoring Statio:?
25 is a corporation, the name and addr ; °ss of its local agent, its registered agent, and the
26 state where incorporated shall be provided.
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I SECTION 6. Monitoring Station Duties (A) It shall be the duty of the operator
2 of every alarm monitoring station to give any alarm user for which the monitoring
3 station provides monitoring services the notice set out in subsection (D) of this section.
4 A fully executed copy of the notice shall remain on file at the monitoring station from
s the start of monitoring service until at least 90 days after the termination of such
6 services on behalf of the alarm user.
7 (B) A fully executed copy of the notice shall be provided to the director of
s Office of Emergency Services within one business day after a demand for such
9 information.
10 (c) The alarm agent or monitoring .system shall assure that the Alarm User has
11 listed at least one person who will be available to respond to the scene of alarm
12 activations within one -half hour after being requested to do so by the City in order to
13 enter the premises, reset the alarm, or secure the premises.
14 (D) The notice set forth in this subsection may be incorporated into the
15 contract, or affixed thereto, and shall be conspicuous, worded exactly as stated, in all
16 capital letters, and shall read as follows:
17 IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALARM USERS
18 AN ALARM USER THAT NEGLIGENTLY OR ACCIDENTALLY ACTIVATES,
19 OR IS RESPONSIBLE FORTHE NEGLIGENT OR ACCIDENTAL ACTIVATION OF,
20 AN ALARM SYSTEM AS THE RESULT OF FAULTY, MALFUNCTIONING, OR
21 IMPROPERLY INSTALLED OR MAINTAINED EQUIPMENT MAY BE GUILTY OF
22 A VIOLATION OF LOCAL ORDINANCE AND SUBJECT TO CIVIL PENALTIES,
23 CRIMINAL FINES, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH CIVIL AND CRIMINAL
24 SANCTIONS. AN ALARM USER MAY FACE CIVIL AND CRIMINAL SANCTIONS
25 IF THE NUMBER OF FALSE ALARMS TO WHICH A LAW ENFORCEMENT
26 AGENCY, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, OR THE AMBULANCE SERVICE
27 ACTUALLY RESPONDS EXCEEDS 3 RESPONSES WPTHIN A TWELVE -MONTH
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PERIOD. CIVIL PENALTIES MAY BE ASSESSED FOR THE COST OF THE
EMERGENCY RESPONSE, OR A CRIMINAL FINE UP TO $500.00 MAY BE
ASSESSED OR BOTH CIVIL AND CRIMINAL SANCTIONS MAY BE IMPOSED.
MONITORING SERVICES BY AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR SHALL
NOT BE PROVIDED UNLESS THE ALARM USER DESIGNATES A PARTY TO BE
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ALARM SYSTEM. BY SIGNING BELOW YOU AGREE TO
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ALARM SYSTEM AND AUTHORIZE THE
UNDERSIGNED PROVIDER TO RELEASE YOUR NAME AND CURRENT
ADDRESS, AS THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY, 'TO THE LOCAL. OFFICE OF
EMERGENCY SERVICES.
YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT YOU, OR AN AGENT YOU SELECT, SHALL
BE AVAILABLE TO RESPOND TO AN ALARM WPTHIN 30 MINUTES IN ORDER
TO OPEN THE PREMISES, RESET THE ALARM, OR SECURE THE PREMISES, AS
REQUESTED BY THE CITY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES. FAILURE TO
RESPOND WITHIN THIS TIME MAY RESULT IN CIVIL OR CRIMINAL
PENALTIES, OR BOTH SUCH PENALTIES BEING IMPOSED UPON YOU.
SIGNED:
ALARM USER
ADDRESS OF PROPERTY
DATE:
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE SIGNATURE ABOVE IS THAT OF THE OWNER
OR AGENT OF THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY AT THE ADDRESS SET OUT
ABOVE.
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3 PROVIDER
4
5 (E) Failure of the Alarm Agent to comply with the provisions of this section
6 shall be a violation of this ordinance
7 SECTION 7. Monitoring Station's Notice to Alarm User.
8 (A) It is the duty of the alarm agent or monitoring station to promptly notify the
9 Alarm User, or its designated representative, of any activation of the alarm user's alarm
to system to which emergency personnel will be requested.
11 (B) When an alarm agent or monitoring station's service to its subscribers is
12 disrupted for any reason by the alarm agent or monitoring station, or the alarm agent
13 or monitoring station becomes aware of such disruption, it shall promptly notify its
14 subscribers that protection is no longer being provided unless written instructions from
15 the subscriber request such notification not be made during certain hours.
16 SECTION 8. Duties of Alarm User. (A) Any alarm user who has not contracted
17 with an alarm agent to respond to the scene of alarm activations shall respond to the
18 scene within one -half hour after alarm activation unless good cause is shown.
19 (B) If an alarm user requests an emergency response to an alarm activation, the
20 user shall, in addition to other relevant information, provide the City 9 -1- I Center with:
21 (1) The identity of the caller;
22 (2) The name of the system owner; and
23 (3) The address of the system owner.
24 (c) 'The information required in this section is not a prerequisite to the
25 provision of emergency services. Any caller unable to provide the required information
26 due to exigent circumstances shall receive prompt response as though the information
27 had been provided.
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1 (D) The failure of an alarm user, or his agent, to respond to the scene of an
2 alarm activation after a request to do so, or failure to respond within the time required
3 by this ordinance, shall be a violation this ordinance and shall be subject to the
4 penalties set forth in Section 1 -9, in addition to any civil penalties which may be
5 imposed.
6 SECTION 9.Penalty for False Alarms.
7 (A) An alarm system that is either negligently or accidentally activated; or
a activated as the result of faulty, malfunctioning, or improperly installed or maintained
9 equipment, or as a result of an act of God, or purposely activated when there is no
10 emergency shall be subject to civil or criminal penalty, or both as set out below.
1 t Criminal violation of the ordinance shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Section
12 1 -9 of the Code of Ordinances The City Manager's designee, upon notice from the
13 Office of Management Support may issue a citation for "False Alarm" to an alarm user
14 or alarm agent, if the number of false alarms not purposely initiated to which any such
15 agency actually responds exceeds three ( :3) responses within a 12 -month period or bill
16 the alann user or other such person as set out below, or such person may be subject to
v both civil and criminal penalties. Any person purposely activating a false alarm may be
18 subject to civil or criminal penalties for each such occurrence, or both civil penalties and
19 criminal penalties. Prosecution of criminal violations shall be heard in Third Division
20 Municipal Court.
21 (B) Civil violations and penalties.
22 (1) Violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance shall
23 result in a civil penalty as follows:
24 (a) For the first finding that this ordinance
25 has been violated, a civil penalty of $25.00;
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I (b) For the second finding within a 12-
2 month period that this ordinance has been 5
3 violated, a civil penalty of $50.00;
4 (c) For the third, or any subsequent, finding
5 within a 12 -month period that this ordinance
6 has been violated, or for each violation wherein
7 a false alarm has been purposely activated, the
8 actual cost to the City for an emergency
9 response to the ordinance. While each
10 response is different, the current costs are
11 $96.00 for a basic police response to a burglary
12 call; $300.00 for a fire response to a house fire,
13 or $1000.00 for a fire response to a fire at a
14 larger complex; and, $475.00 for an emergency
15 response by the Little Rock ambulance
16 authority. In some instances more than one
17 type of emergency services may respond to the
is same call, and the costs billed MAY increase
19 accordingly.
20 (c) Administrative hearing. The City Manager shall designate a hearing
21 officer to hear administrative appeals of civil penalties. The party desiring a hearing
22 shall notify the hearing officer in writing within ten (10) working days of assessment of
23 the civil penalty. The hearing officer may review written evidence, testimony, or both,
24 in making his determination. His decision shall be communicated in writing to the
25 appellant and the Departments affected.
26 SECTION 10. Defective systems and notices.
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I (A) No person shall permit a defective alarm system to be in operation on
2 property that they own or control. Jr 4 U
3 (B) An alarm system is presumed to be defective if more than three (3) false
4 alarms occur within a 12 -month period.
5 (c) A lack of physical evidence of an attempt to break into a residence or
6 business, or the lack of physical evidence of a fire or smoke, or other emergency, shall
7 create a rebuttable presumption that an alarm system is defective.
s (D) Any person convicted of violating the. provisions of this section shall be
9 subject to punishment in accordance with Section 1 -9 of this Code.
10 (E) It shall be an affinnative defense to prosecuiion under this section that an
I I alarm user contracted with an alarm agent or other agency to maintain, repair, modify
12 or replace a defective alarm system and that. the alarm agent or other agency failed or
13 refused to promptly make such maintenance, repair, modification or replacement,
14 resulting in the false alarm.
15 SECTION 11. Connection to City'1'elephone Lines. It shall be unlawful for
16 any person to program an automatic dialing device to select any telephone line assigned
17 to the City, and it is unlawful for an alarm user to fail to disconnect or reprogram such
la a device within 12 hours of receipt of written notice front the City that an automatic
19 dialing device is so programmed.
20 SECTION 12. Additional Alarm System Requirements. Any Alarm System
21 which can be heard outside the building, structure, or facility of the alarm user shall be
22 equipped to:
23 (1) Automatically silence the annunciator within 15 minutes after activation; and
24 (2) Permit an accidental or negligent alarm activation to be halted or reset.
25 SECTION 13. Penalties. Unless specifically enumerated herein; any person
26 convicted of violation of any of the provisions of this article shall be punished as
27 provided in section 1 -9.
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1 SECTION 14. Severability. In the event any title, subtitle, section, subsection,
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2 subdivision, paragraph, subparagraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or war of §�
3 ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration or
4 adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of this ordinance which shall remain
5 in fu]] force and effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or
6 unconstitutional was not originally a part of this ordinance.
7 SECTION 15. Repealer. Any ordinance or resolution, or the part of any
a ordinance or resolution, inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby
9 repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
10 SECTION 16. Emergency. It is hereby teund and determined by the Board of
11 Directors of the City of Little Rock that significant police, fire; and emergency services
12 resources are expended in answering alarms which turn out to be malfunctions or are
13 otherwise unwarranted; that. the creation of a sanction for unnecessary alarms has
14 resulted in a significant decrease in the number of alarms in other conmr:unities; that the
15 City-'s police. fire, and emergency services resources should be reserved for true
16 emergency responses; and that this ordinance is necessary to preserve the public peace,
17 health,,and safety. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this
18 ordinance being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace: health,
19 and safety shall be in full force and effect frorn and after the date of its passage.
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21 Passed: July 20, 1999
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23 Attest:
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26 Robbie Hancock, City Clerk
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Approved:
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I Approved as to Legal Form:
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a Thomas M. Carpenter, City Attorney
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