5.08.060 Duties of alarm installation company and monitoring company.
A. Each alarm installation company and alarm monitoring company operating or an agent of any such company operating or monitoring, or otherwise doing business in the city shall obtain and maintain all necessary business licenses and permits as required by the city and the state of California prior to commencing business within the city.
B. Alarm installation companies shall provide written and oral instructions to each of its alarm users in the proper use and operation of their alarm systems. Such instructions will specifically include all instructions necessary to turn the alarm system on and off and how to avoid false alarms.
C. Alarm installation companies shall not program alarm systems so that they are capable of sending one plus duress alarms. The alarm installation company shall remove the one plus duress alarm feature from alarm systems whenever an alarm technician is at the premises or otherwise accessing the panel for reprogramming purposes.
D. Alarm installation companies shall not install a device to activate a holdup alarm, which is a single action, non-recessed button.
E. Alarm installation companies shall use alarm control panels on all new installations and panel replacements or upgrades that meet the industry standards determined by the chief of police.
F. Alarm installation or monitoring companies shall not use automatic telephone dialing devices.
G. After completion of the installation of an alarm system, an alarm installation company employee shall review with the alarm user the customer false alarm prevention checklist or an equivalent checklist approved by the chief of police.
H. An alarm monitoring company shall:
1. Not make an alarm dispatch request of the police department in response to a burglar alarm signal, excluding panic, duress and holdup signals, during the first seven days following an alarm system installation. The chief of police may grant an alarm user’s request for an exemption from this waiting period based upon a determination that special circumstances substantiate the need for the exemption;
2. Report alarm signals by using telephone numbers designated by the chief of police;
3. Verify every alarm signal, except a distress or holdup alarm activation, with two telephone calls to two different numbers (one typically a cell phone) before initiating an alarm dispatch request in an effort to determine the cause of the alarm and whether or not a dispatch is required;
4. Communicate alarm dispatch requests to the police department in a manner and form determined by the chief of police;
5. Communicate cancellations to the police department in a manner and form determined by the chief of police;
6. Ensure that all alarm users of alarm systems equipped with a duress, holdup or panic alarm are given adequate training as to the proper use of the duress, holdup or panic alarm;
7. Communicate any available information about the location on all alarm signals related to the alarm dispatch request;
8. Communicate nature of alarm;
9. Provide an alarm user permit number when requesting police dispatch;
10. After an alarm dispatch request, promptly advise the police department if the monitoring company knows that the alarm user or the responder is on the way to the premises;
11. Attempt to contact the alarm user or responder within twenty-four hours via mail, fax, telephone or other electronic means when an alarm dispatch request is made; and
12. Upon the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section, maintain for a period of at least one year from the date of the alarm dispatch request, records relating to alarm dispatch requests. Records must include the name, address and telephone number of the alarm user, the alarm system zone activated, the time of alarm dispatch request and evidence of an attempt to verify. The chief of police may request copies of such records for individually named alarm users. If the request is made within sixty days of an alarm dispatch request, the monitoring company shall furnish requested records within three business days of receiving the request. If the records are requested between sixty days to one year after an alarm dispatch request, the monitoring company shall furnish the requested records within thirty days of receiving the request.
I. An alarm installation company and/or monitoring company that purchases alarm system accounts from another person shall notify the chief of police of such purchase and provide details as may be reasonably requested by the chief of police.
J. Each alarm installation company and alarm monitoring company must designate one individual as the alarm response manager. The name, phone number, and email address of the designated alarm response manager must be provided to the chief of police.
K. An alarm installation company and/or monitoring company shall provide the chief of police with a customer list in a format acceptable to the chief of police, upon request, to assist with creating the police department’s tracking data, so far as allowed with respect to state or local law that protects this customer information as confidential.
L. Alarm installation and/or monitoring companies shall assist alarm users in obtaining the alarm permit and submit it to the chief of police within five days of the activation of an alarm system. (Ord. 4649 § 1, 2011)