Sacramento Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions and Definitions

The city council finds and determines that:

A. The Sacramento police department receives more than twenty-six thousand (26,000) security alarm related calls each year, of which approximately ninety-seven (97) percent were false.

B. Responding to false alarms endangers the public health and safety by preventing, diverting, or delaying public safety officers and emergency dispatchers from performing other important police services, such as answering calls for service, crime prevention, enforcement of laws, and investigating and solving crimes.

C. The dangers of automobile collisions en-route to activated alarms, which further divert valuable public safety resources from regularly assigned duties, pose a further risk of harm to the public.

D. Repetitive false alarms also disturb the peace and quiet of city inhabitants, and promote a complacent attitude in the community towards potential dangers.

E. For the reasons stated above, the city council finds that false alarms are detrimental to the public health, safety, welfare, and the peace and quiet of the inhabitants of the city. This chapter is adopted to reduce the number of false alarms within the city.

F. The city council finds and determines that the public interest, convenience, health, welfare, and safety require the regulation of alarm companies, alarm system subscribers, alarm systems, and alarm users within the city.

G. The false alarm response fines fees established by this ordinance are not "taxes" under Proposition 26. The purpose of the false alarm response fines is not to secure revenue but to impose fines for violations of the law. (Ord. 2012-023 § 2)

The provisions of this chapter are adopted as an exercise of the city's police power to promote the public health, safety, and welfare and are not intended to protect individuals or otherwise establish or create a special relationship with any particular class or group of persons who will or may be affected by the provisions of this chapter. This chapter neither creates nor imposes any duty to protect on the part of the city nor any of its departments, divisions, officials, agents, or employees. The obligation of complying with the requirements of this chapter and the consequences for failing to do so are placed solely upon the parties responsible for owning, operating, monitoring, or maintaining alarm systems within the city. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted as requiring or promising any response by public safety officers to any alarm. (Ord. 2012-023 § 2)

As used in this chapter:

"Alarm administrator" means the person designated by the chief of police as the person responsible for administering the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to Section 8.36.060.

"Alarm appeals hearing officer" means the person designated by the chief of police as the person responsible for hearing appeals pursuant to Section 8.36.260.

"Alarm business" means the selling, monitoring, maintaining, servicing, altering, or installing of any alarm system or causing to be sold, monitored, maintained, serviced, altered, or installed any alarm system in or on any building, real property, or premises.

"Alarm company" means any person engaged in an alarm business for any consideration whatsoever. The term also includes "alarm system monitoring company."

"Alarm system" means an "alarm system" as defined in California Business and Professions Code Section 7590.1.

"Alarm system monitoring company" means any person that, for any considerations whatsoever, engages in the business, practice, or profession of monitoring alarm systems within the city, and that reports, directly or indirectly, any activation of alarm systems to the city, its departments, divisions, officials, agents, or employees including, but not limited to, the police department and/or police dispatch.

"Alarm user" means a person having or maintaining an alarm system on real property owned or controlled by that person.

"Alarm user permit" means the permit required under Section 8.36.200.

"Audible alarm" means an alarm system that, when activated, generates an audible sound at its location.

"Chief of police" means the chief of police of the city or designee.

"False alarm" means an alarm to which a public safety officer responds and, in the opinion of that officer, no evidence of the commission or attempted commission of a crime is present that can be reasonably attributed to have caused the alarm activation, or the responding officer is unable to determine if evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense is present because the site is inaccessible.

"One-plus duress alarm" means an alarm system that permits the manual activation of an alarm signal by entering on a keypad a code that adds the value of one to the last digit of its usual arm/disarm code.

"Public safety officers" means police officers, community safety officers, sheriff officers, and other public safety personnel authorized to enforce local, state, or federal laws.

"System subscriber" means any alarm user that has purchased, contracted for, or has had installed, an alarm system that is monitored by an alarm system monitoring company in or upon property that is owned or controlled by the system subscriber. (Ord. 2012-023 § 2)

No alarm system monitoring company or alarm user shall request that a public safety officer respond to an alarm signal unless the alarm system monitoring company or alarm user has already made at least two telephone calls to determine whether the alarm signal is valid or false. One telephone call shall be to the premises where the alarm system is located. The second telephone call shall be to an alternate telephone number designated by the alarm user for this purpose. (Ord. 2012-023 § 2)

The amount of all fees, fines, and charges specified in this chapter shall be set by resolution of the city council. All fees, fines and charges specified in this chapter shall be deposited into a police services account, which shall be used to offset the cost of personnel, equipment, supplies, and administrative costs incurred by the city in responding to alarms and administering this chapter. (Ord. 2012-023 § 2)

In order to administer and implement the provisions of this chapter, the chief of police is authorized to adopt written rules and regulations that are consistent with the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 2012-023 § 2)

A. In addition to any other remedy allowed by law, any person who violates a provision of this chapter is subject to criminal sanctions, civil actions, and administrative penalties pursuant to Chapter 1.28.

B. Violations of this chapter are hereby declared to be a public nuisance.

C. Any person who violates a provision of this chapter is liable for civil penalties of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) or more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) for each day the violation continues.

D. Any person who violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine in accordance with Section 36900 of the California Government Code.

E. All remedies prescribed under this chapter shall be cumulative and the election of one or more remedies shall not bar the city from the pursuit of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions hereof. (Ord. 2012-023 § 2)