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City of Hartford |
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ELECTRONIC ALARM SYSTEMS |
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BACKGROUND
In February of 1997 the Court of Common Council adopted changes to Chapter 25, Section 25-14 ( C ) and ( I ) of the Municipal Code. The ordinance defines and outlines requirements for electronic alarm systems. The changes were made at the time due to the increasing number of false alarms that emergency services were responding to in the city. The revised ordinance places greater responsibility on residents and business owners to properly maintain and operate their electronic alarm systems.
REGISTRATION
The ordinance specifically requires that users of electronic alarm systems register their system with the Hartford Police Department. The registration process is free for burglar, medical assistance and fire alarms monitored by a central station (alarm monitoring company). Fire alarm users that have master boxes directly connected to the Hartford Fire Department must pay a yearly registration fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00) that is payable each January 1st. In order to facilitate the registration process for anyone using an alarm system not yet registered, you may print and mail a registration form. This service is available only to those users that have an alarm system that is monitored by a central station. If you desire to obtain a complete copy of the cities false alarm ordinance, please call us.
PENALTIES
The ordinance establishes a fine schedule for repeated false alarms which require the response from police, fire, or emergency medical services. Fines and false alarms are based on a fiscal year starting July 1 and ending June 30.
FINE SCHEDULE:
| Number of False Alarms | Fine |
| 1 | No Fine |
| 2 | No Fine |
| 3 | $25.00 |
| 4 | $45.00 |
5 or more |
$90.00 |
For alarm users that have not registered their system there are separate penalties. The user is fined ninety dollars ($90.00) for each false alarm occurrence. In addition they are also fined, at each false alarm occurrence, ninety nine dollars, ($99.00) for failure to register. Therefore, the total fine for an alarm user who has yet to register their system is one hundred eighty nine dollars ($189.00).
Assessed fines may be appealed by submitting an alarm waiver request form. This form should be submitted to the False Alarm Unit at the Hartford Police Department.
The Chief of Police may suspend police response to a particular address if there is a history of repeated false alarms, and the alarm owner refuses to register their system. Also, police response may be suspended for excessive unpaid fines. Should the police department receive information that there is a crime in progress after the receipt of an alarm call to a suspended location, police response will be sent. Response may be reinstated by registering the system or paying any unpaid fines.
AUDIBLE DEVICES
The following shall apply to burglar alarm systems only. Any alarm system that utilizes an audible device (bell, siren, or horn) shall be equipped with an automatic shut-off device which will deactivate the system within ten (10) minutes and shall not be equipped so as to reset itself.
