Imperial County Municipal Code Ch. 8.04 Alarm Systems

The board of supervisors of the county of Imperial finds and declares that:

A. The majority of burglar and holdup alarms to which law enforcement responds are false. Such alarms result in an enormous waste of manpower and the large percentage of false alarms may lull law enforcement officers and the public into a false sense of security.

B. Alarm systems which automatically and directly dial any emergency telephone number are prone to be activated by electrical failures or other events having no connection with criminal activity and tie up such emergency telephones, making them unavailable to receive genuine emergency calls.

C. The danger to the public created by false alarms and the attendant emergency response is unnecessary and hazardous.

D. The waste of tax dollars through false alarm response is unsupportable and must be reduced.

E. The intent of this chapter is to reduce false alarms by establishing performance criteria for alarm systems within the unincorporated areas of Imperial County.

F. Imperial County is empowered to enact the ordinance codified in this chapter according to the provisions of California Business and Professions Code Section 7592.8(c).

(Prior code § 51801)

For the purpose of this chapter:

"Alarm agent" means any person who is employed by an alarm business either directly or indirectly, whose duties include any of the following: selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, or installing on or in any building, structure or facility, any alarm system.

"Alarm business" means the business by an individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, 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 in or on any building, structure or facility.

"Alarm system" means any mechanical or electrical device which is designed or used for the detection of an unauthorized entry into a building, structure, or facility or for alerting others to the commission of an unlawful act within a building, structure or facility or both which emits a sound or transmits a signal or message when actuated that is intended to evoke a sheriff's office response. The term includes devices of several types in a single location and constitutes an alarm system.

"Burglary alarm system" means any device which is designed or used for the detection of intrusion into a building, structure or facility, which detection causes a local audible alarm or the transmission of a related signal or message, which is used to evoke a sheriff's office response.

"Direct dial telephone device" means any device, including tape dialers, which will automatically dial a telephone number maintained by the sheriff's office.

"Emergency alarm system" means any device which is designed or used to alert, either directly or indirectly, personnel of the sheriff's office to any emergency situation.

"Local alarm system" means any audible alarm system which can be heard from the exterior of any structure.

"False alarm" means any activation of an alarm system by failure, malfunction, accidental tripping, misoperation, misuse or negligent maintenance by the owner or lessee of the alarm system or his or her employee or agent or any other activation of an alarm system that results in the response of the Imperial County sheriff's office where an emergency situation does not exist, except excusable alarms caused by severe weather conditions, telephone line malfunctions, or any factor which the permittee alarm company and sheriff's office lack control.

"Panic alarm" means any device designed or used for the purpose of alerting personnel of the sheriff's office, either directly or indirectly, to the commission of a crime involving potential death or serious injury at a particular location.

"Robbery alarm system" means any device designed or used for the purpose of alerting personnel of the sheriff's office, either directly or indirectly, to the commission of a crime involving potential death or serious injury at a particular location.

(Prior code § 51802)

A. No person shall maintain an alarm business in the unincorporated areas of the county of Imperial without having previously registered as required by the state of California. Any person acting as an alarm agent or responding alarm agent must carry his or her registration card issued by the state of California while engaged in alarm agent activities and shall display such registration card to the sheriff or his or her representative upon request.

B. Any person or business who leases, maintains, sells or installs any alarm system or who causes such a system to be leased, maintained, sold or installed shall be responsible for informing the person who leases, rents, purchases, or has installed an alarm system of the provisions of this chapter, such notification shall be in writing and shall include the following:

1. No person shall use an alarm system without first applying for and receiving an alarm permit in accordance with this chapter.

2. Direct dial telephone devices are prohibited and the sheriff's office will not respond to telephone calls made by such devices.

3. False alarms exceeding the schedule set by the sheriff may result in suspension or revocation of an alarm system permit.

(Prior code § 51803)

A. All alarm systems shall require a county alarm permit in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

B. An alarm user whose permit has been revoked may apply for a reissued alarm permit in accordance with the fee schedule in Section 8.04.070. The sheriff will not grant a reissued alarm permit until the subject alarm system has been properly serviced and its deficiencies corrected.

(Prior code § 51804)

A. Every applicant for an alarm permit shall file with the sheriff's office, on forms provided by the county, a legibly written application stating:

1. The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant user at home and place of business;

2. A description of the property where an alarm system is proposed to be used;

3. Street address;

4. Number of separate alarms used at that site and specific location of each alarm;

5. Description of the proposed alarm system(s), excluding manufacturer's name and model number;

6. Name of the person or company who will install the alarm system at the proposed location;

7. Name, address and telephone number of one person or company who will be available to be contacted in the event of alarm activation. The applicant user may provide the name of an additional person. If the name, mailing address or telephone number of the contact person(s) changes, the applicant user shall supply corrected information to the sheriff within five days of the change. If requested by the sheriff's office, the person(s) listed shall be required to be present at the alarm location within thirty (30) minutes after being advised by the sheriff's office of an alarm activation.

B. At the time of filing an application, the applicant shall pay all fees applicable. Upon receipt of all applicable fees, the application becomes a temporary permit pending review by the sheriff. In the event an alarm permit application is denied by the sheriff, all fees will be returned to the applicant. The alarm business may obtain a permit for an alarm location on behalf of a concerned property owner.

(Prior code § 51805)

A. An alarm permit may be issued by the sheriff at any time and will expire on the last day of the twenty-fourth month following the issuance of the permit.

B. Alarm permits shall not be transferred from one person to another nor from one location to another.

(Prior code § 51806)

(Ord. 1317 § 2, 2000: prior code § 51807)

(Ord. No. 1606, § 1, 6-24-25)

No direct dial telephone devices shall be programmed to dial any of the emergency or "Call for Services" numbers servicing the Imperial County sheriff's office communications center.

(Prior code § 51808)

All local alarm systems shall be installed with an automatic fifteen (15) minute shut off.

(Prior code § 51809)

Upon notification by the Imperial County sheriff's office, the alarm user or responding party shall promptly proceed within thirty (30) minutes to the scene of the alarm and render any necessary service. The service shall include, but is not limited to, opening the premises so that said premises may be searched.

(Prior code § 51810)

A. A violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute grounds for revocation of an alarm system permit by the sheriff.

B. Any alarm user whose alarm permit has been revoked shall immediately discontinue use of the alarm system, until such time as the alarm permit is reissued. Failure to comply will result in prosecution in accordance with Section 8.04.150.

(Prior code § 51811)

In the event false alarms in excess of the schedule listed below are received or any other provision of this chapter is violated, the sheriff shall revoke the alarm system permit. The permitted number of false alarms for each alarm permit following the latest issue or reissue shall be as follows:

A. Two false alarms in any thirty (30) day period;

B. Three false alarms in any ninety (90) day period;

C. Four false alarms in any one hundred eighty (180) day periods, or

D. Five false alarms in any one-year period. Upon failure of the sheriff's office to locate any evidence of intrusion or other reason or cause for activating an alarm system, a presumption of false alarm will be made. If within ten (10) days, the sheriff receives from the permittee satisfactory written evidence that the alarm was valid, i.e., an excusable alarm as defined by Section 8.04.020 or an alarm caused by an unauthorized entry, attempted unauthorized entry, or other unlawful activity on the alarm site, the permittee's records will be amended to indicate a valid or excusable alarm.

The sheriff shall notify the permittee in writing that the alarm permit has been revoked. The permittee may submit the proper fees for a reissued alarm permit in accordance with Section 8.04.070 and satisfactory written evidence indicating that the cause of the false alarm has been determined and corrected, or appeal the decision of the sheriff in accordance with Section 5.04.040(H).

(Prior code § 51812)

The provisions of this chapter do not apply to:

A. Persons engaged solely in the manufacture, repair or sale of alarm systems and/or components at a fixed location who do not personally or through an agent install, maintain, service, inspect or plan the alarm system for any location;

B. Alarm systems which do not directly alert law enforcement agencies or others outside the protected building, structure, or facility, but are designed solely to alert security personnel or others directly connected with or employed by the owner or operator of the protected building, structure or facility.

(Prior code § 51813)

The information furnished and secured pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential in character and shall not be subject to public inspection and shall be kept so that the contents thereof shall not be known except to persons charged with the administration of this chapter.

(Prior code § 51814)

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter is deemed guilty of an infraction and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per violation.

(Prior code § 51815)

The conviction or punishment of any person for violation of the provisions of this chapter or for failing to secure a permit as required by this chapter shall not relieve the person from paying the permit fee due and unpaid at the time of the conviction, nor shall payment of any permit fee prevent criminal prosecution for violation of any of the provisions of this chapter. All remedies shall be cumulative and the use of one or more remedies by the county shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter. The amount of any permit fee shall be deemed a debt to the county. An action may be commenced in the name of the county in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of any delinquent permit fee. All permit fees shall be deemed delinquent thirty (30) days after they are due and payable.

(Prior code § 51816)