South El Monte Municipal Code Ch. 8.16 Security Alarm Systems

The city council finds that local businesses are making increasing use of security alarm systems, and law enforcement officers are called to respond to such alarms with greater frequency. The majority of the alarms activated and responded to turn out to be false. False alarms impose a financial burden on the city and, by demanding fast law enforcement response, cause substantial risk to both law enforcement personnel and the public. It is therefore necessary to regulate the use of security alarm systems by businesses in the city and to establish service charges to be assessed in the event of false alarms.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:

"Alarm owner"

means any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity maintaining an alarm system on a business premises.

"Alarm system"

means any device designed for the detection of an unauthorized entry on business premises or for alerting others of the commission of an unlawful act, which device, when actuated, emits a sound beyond the business premises protected by such device or transmits a signal or message to another location.

"False alarm"

means an activated alarm or alarm signal from any alarm system which is responded to by law enforcement but for which no emergency situation exists or where there is no evidence to indicate that there was an emergency situation as determined by the responding officer. "False alarm" shall not include those alarms actuated by extraordinary meteorological, atmospheric or other conditions or means as determined by the law enforcement officials.

"Fiscal year"

means the period from and including July 1st of any year to and including June 30th of the following year.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

The use of an alarm system that is equipped with a direct-dial telephone device, which when activated automatically dials any telephone number in any office of the law enforcement department, is prohibited.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

Every alarm owner shall post a notice containing the names and telephone numbers of the persons to be notified to render repairs and service and to secure the premises during any hour of the day or night in the event the alarm is activated. Such notice shall be posted near the alarm in such a position as to be legible from the ground level adjacent to the building where the alarm system is located.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

Notice of each false alarm shall be mailed to or otherwise served upon the alarm owner. The notice shall state that the city may: (A) assess service charges to defray the cost of law enforcement responses to false alarms; or (B) declare that an alarm system that generates excessive false alarms is a public nuisance that the city may initiate proceedings to abate.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

In order to defray the costs incurred by the city in responding to false alarms, a service charge shall be paid to the city by each alarm owner for each third and subsequent law enforcement response made to the alarm owner's premises for a false alarm during a fiscal year. The city council shall establish the amounts of service charges by resolution and may provide that service charges shall increase as the number of false alarms generated by a business premises increases.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

The city's finance director shall cause to be issued a monthly bill for the unpaid service charges accrued during the billing period and any prior periods. Such bill shall be due and payable within fifteen days after the billing date.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

The amount of any service charge shall be deemed a debt to the city. An action may be commenced in the name of the city in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of any unpaid service charge. All service charges shall be deemed delinquent fifteen days after they are due and payable.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

A notice of false alarm or any service charge assessed may be appealed in writing to the city manager by the alarm owner within fifteen days from the date the notice was sent or the assessment was made. The appeal shall state the grounds upon which the alarm owner believes the notice or charge is improper.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)

Any person violating any provision of this chapter is guilty of an infraction.

(Ord. 998 §1, 1997)