22-AMENDING EMERGENCY ALARM ORDINANCEItem No. 22
memo�andum
TO: City Council
John Godwin, City Manager
FROM: Bob Hundley, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: AMENDING THE EMERGENCY ALARM ORDINANCE
DATE: January 28th 2013
BACKGROIJND: Burglary and robbery alarms are considered an asset to the prevention of
criminal activity. Unfortunately, false alarms become a burden to the resources of law
enforcement for the entire community.
In 1985, the city council enacted an ordinance regarding emergency alarm systems in the city of
Paris. The ordinance provided for a permitting process, a permit fee, a certain number of alarms
to be responded to before charges being assessed for that response. The ordinance encompassed
fire, EMS and police response to emergency alarms and was administered by the fire department.
There were complaints about the ordinance from the business community and evidently the
enforcement and adherence to the ordinance waned. There has not been any enforcement of the
ordinance that I am aware of for the past 25 or so years.
STATUS OF ISSUE: The police department responded to 2,137 alarms in 2009. In 2010 we
responded to 2,081 alarms and 2,222 alarm responses in 2011. As of December 16'h of this year,
the department has responded to 1,881. Over 95% of these alarms are false. This high number of
false alarms creates a drain on police resources. Officers are responding to false alarms in which
someone has forgotten an alarm code, have a malfunctioning alarm or is failing to maintain their
system. We make a conservative estimate of wasting a minimum of 1200 man hours a year.
Looking at actual responses in 2012, there are approximately 28 alarms sites that would have
been in violation or close to violation of the proposed amended ordinance. Of those, we have
one site that has 94 responses.
The requested amendments to the original alarm ordinance allows for the police department to
manage this ordinance. Here are the most important aspects of the requested amendment:
• Alarms are required to be registered with the police department, but no fee is charged.
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• There are exceptions for false alarms that include severe weather induced alarms, actual
criminal activity, power outages or the alarm is cancelled before police units are
dispatched.
• The alartn registration holder is allowed six (6) false alarms in a 12 month period not
including any of the excepted false alarms.
• Upon the sixth false alarm response, the alarm site is declared a nuisance alarm and the
alarm registration holder is notified of the designation.
• A response fee of $75.00 is charged for the sixth alarm and for each alarm thereafter
until the total number of false alarm responses reaches ten.
• Upon the tenth total false alarm response, or if the alarm registration holder fails to pay
any of the response fees, the alarm registration holder is in violation of the alarm
ordinance.
BUDGET: There will be additional work for the department if this ordinance is amended. We
are hoping that the consequences of allowing multiple false alarms will limit the number of
alarm sites that the department has to contend with by use of this ordinance. The ordinance asks
that any fees generated from this ordinance be deposited in a line item in the department for
personnel costs. These additional duties will be absorbed by existing personnel.
RECOMMENDATION: A motion to amend the ordinance as presented to the council is
recommended.
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ORDINANCE N0.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUIVCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS,
AMEIVDING ARTICLE II. EMERGENCY ALARM SYSTEMS OF CHAPTER 21
MISCELLANEOUS OFFEIVSES A1VD PROVISIONS, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS TO ENACT A NEW EMERGENCY ALARM
REGISTRATION PROCESS AND NUISANCE ALARM REGULATIONS; AND MAKING
OTHER CHANGES RELATED TO THE SAME; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, the Emergency Alarm Systems Permitting Process as originally adopted over
twenty- five (25) years ago was set up to be administered by the Paris Fire Department, but over
time has become more of an issue for the Police Department; and
WHEREAS, the Paris Police Department is dispatched to over 2,000 non-fire alarm calls per
year, of which ninety-five percent (95%) are false alarms; and
WHEREAS, the majority of the false alarm calls are generated by a hand full of businesses
that are not properly maintaining their alarm systems; and
WHEREAS, a significant amount of police officer patrol time is wasted responding to false
alarms and this cost should be redirected to those repeat violators that fail to properly maintain
their alarm systems; and
WHERAS, the City Council hereby find that it would be in the best interest of the City and its
citizens to charge a police department response fee to those businesses or residents that have more
than six unexcused false alarms calls per year.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS,
TEXAS:
Section 1. That the findings set out in the preamble to this ordinance are hereby in all
things approved.
Section 2. That Chapter 21 Article II. Emergency Alarm Systems of Chapter 21
Miscellaneous Offenses of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris, Texas, be, and the same is
hereby, amended to read in its entirety as follows:
"ARTICLE II. Emergency Alarm Systems
Sec.21-26. Definitions.
The following words and terms, as used herein, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them, as
follows:
Alarm System. means a device or series of devices, including, but not limited to, hardwired systems
and systems interconnected with a radio frequency method such as cellular or private radio signals,
which emit or transmit a remote or local audible, visual or electronic signal indicating an alarm
condition and intended to summon law enforcement response, including Local Alarm Systems.
Alarm System does not include an alarm installed in a vehicle or on someone's Person unless the
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vehicle or the personal alarm is permanently located at a site. Alarm system does include systems
that are self-installed.
Alarm Installation Company. means a Person in the business of selling, providing, maintaining,
servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing an Alarm System in an Alarm Site. This
definition shall also include individuals or firms that install and service the Alarm Systems that will
be used in their private or proprietary facilities. This does not include persons doing installation or
repair work where such work is performed without compensation of any kind (i.e., "do-it-
yourselfers").
Alarm site. A premises or location served by an alarm system.
Alarm Registration Holder/Alarm System Owner. The person responsible for the alarm site and
responsible for compliance with this ordinance.
Alarm notification. A notification intended to summon the police, which is initiated or triggered by
an alarm system designed to respond to an unauthorized intrusion of premises or attempted
intrusion of premises or an alarm activated by a person in response to a robbery or attempted
robbery.
Director. The duties of the Director shall be performed by the Chief of the Police or his designee.
False alarm. An alarm dispatch request or notification to Paris Police Department when the
responding police officer finds that there is no evidence of robbery or burglary of the premises or
attempted robbery or attempted burglary.
Financial institution. An institution required to have an alarm system by the provisions of the Bank
Protection Act of 1968 (12 USC Section 1882, as amended).
Local alarm. An alarm system that emits a signal at an alarm site that is audible from the exterior
and/or interior of a structure, but is not monitored.
Nuisance Alarm. A false alarm that is answered at the same alarm site more than 5 times in a
running 12 month period.
Person. An individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization, or other legal entity.
Sec. 21-27. Registration Requirements.
(a) A person commits an offense if he installs, operates or causes to be operated an alarm
system other than a local alarm without registering the alarm system with the Director. A
separate registration is required for each alarm site and each type of alarm system at each site.
(b) Upon receipt of the completed registration form, the Director shall cause the information to
be entered into the Department's data base in the Department's records management system.
(c) Each registration must contain the name, address, and telephone number of the person
who is responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system and payment
of fees or charges levied under this article. Each registration must also contain the name,
address, and telephone number of at least two persons who are able and have agreed to receive
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notification from a member of the city's police department at any time and to come to the alarm
site within twenty (20) minutes after receiving such notification.
(d) Alarm System registration shall be updated with the Director whenever there is a change in
ownership or occupancy of the alarm site property.
Sec. 21-28. Alarm Registration Holder's Responsibilities.
(a) An alarm registration holder is allowed five (5) false alarms in a rolling 12 month period
with exception of any false alarms as defined in Section 21-32. Upon the sixth false alarm, the
Director will notify the alarm registration holder that the number of "excused" false alarms has
been exceeded and any additional law enforcement responses to false alarms at the alarm site
will generate a law enforcement response fee to be assessed against the registered alarm
system owner.
A law enforcement response fee of $75.00 will be charged to the alarm registration holder of a
commercial property and a$25.00 law enforcement response fee will be charged to the alarm
registration holder of a residential property.
(b) The alarm registration holder shall pay response fees assessed under the provisions of this
section within thirty (30) days following receipt of the invoice.
Sec. 21-29. Nuisance Alarm
(a) An alarm system shall be deemed a nuisance alarm after six (6) false alarms during a
rolling twelve month period, not including those false alarms excepted under Section 21-32 of
this ordinance.
(b) A person commits an offense if he continues to operate an alarm system that initiates false
alarms in excess of six (6) unexcused false alarms in a rolling 12 month period or if the person
fails to pay any Police Department response fees within 30 days of notice.
Sec. 21-30. False alarm exceptions.
(a) The Director shall not consider an alarm notification to be false if he determines that the
alarm was caused by:
(1) A natural or manmade catastrophe;
(2) Severe weather that causes power interruption to the alarm site or significant physical
damage to the premises;
(3) Any attempted or completed criminal act;
(4) The alarm is cancelled before police units are dispatched to the location.
(b) The determination of the Director in classifying an alarm notification as false or actual is
final.
(c) An alarm that is initiated more than once over a 24 hour period shall be considered one (1)
false alarm.
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Sec. 21-31. Responsibilities ofAlarm Registration Holders/Alarm System Owners.
(a) An alarm registration holder shall:
(1) Maintain premises containing an alarm system in a manner that ensures proper operation of
the alarm system. It is the responsibility of the alarm system owner to properly maintain the
alarm system to prevent false activations.
(2) Adjust or modify the sensory mechanism of their alarm system to suppress false indications of
force so that the alarm system will not be activated by impulses due to:
a. Transient pressure changes in water pipes;
b. Flashes of light;
c. Wind noise caused by the rattling or vibrating of doors or windows;
d. Vehicular noise adjacent to the installation; or
e. Other forces unrelated to actual emergencies; and
(b) A person in control of a local alarm shall:
(1) Adjust the mechanism so that an alarm siren will sound for no longer than fifteen (15) minutes
after being activated;
(2) Display in a prominent exterior location an identification notice provided by the Director
unless owner has furnished name and phone number of two (2) or more responsible persons
to be called; and
(3) Come to the alarm site within twenty (20) minutes after receiving a request from a member of
the City's police department, and grant access to the premises and deactivate the alarm if
necessary.
(c) In the event that a mechanism sounds an alarm siren for longer than twenty (20) minutes after
being activated, the police chief or his designated representative is authorized to disable the
alarm. All costs incurred by the City in disabling such an alarm shall be assessed against the
registration holder of the alarm system and shall be paid to the City within thirty (30) days of
receipt of invoice. By registering the alarm system with the Director pursuant to this
ordinance, the owner of the alarm system grants authority to the City to deactivate the local
alarm system when deemed necessary.
Sec. 21-32. All fees received by Director under this ordinance shall be transferred to a line item in
the Police Department budget to offset administrative costs of the alarm registration process. The
department may use a contractor for administration of this ordinance.
Sec.21-33. Alarm Companies License. All Alarm Installation Companies and Monitoring Companies
who install, maintain, service or monitor alarm systems in the City of Paris shall maintain the
appropriate license or registration with the State of Texas.
Section 3. That all provisions of the ordinances of the City of Paris, Texas in conflict
with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed, and all other provisions of the
ordinances of the City of Paris not in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall remain in
full force and effect.
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Section 4. That the repeal of any ordinance or part of ordinances affected by the
enactment of this ordinance shall not be construed as abandoning any action now pending under or
by virtue of such ordinance or as discontinuing, abating, modifying, or altering any penalty accruing
or to accrue, or as affecting any rights of the municipality under any section or provisions of any
ordinance at the time of passage of this ordinance.
Section 5. That it is the intention of the City Council of the City of Paris that this
ordinance, and every provision hereof, shall be considered severable, and the invalidity or partial
invalidity of any section, clause, or provisions of this ordinance shall not affect the validity of any
other portion of this ordinance.
Section 6. That this ordinance shall become effective from and after its passage of the
second reading and publication as required by law.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 25th day of February, 2013.
ATTEST:
Janice Ellis, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
W. Kent McIlyar, City Attorney
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A.J. Hashmi, M.D., Mayor