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[HISTORY: Adopted by the Special Town Meeting of the Town of Marblehead 10-16-1989 by Art. 13. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The purpose of this By-Law is to encourage security and fire system users and alarm companies to maintain the operational reliability and the proper use of alarm systems in limiting unnecessary police and fire emergency responses to false alarms.
B. 
This By-Law governs burglary, fire and robbery systems; requires permits; establishes fees; provides for fines for excessive alarms, and penalties for violations; establishes a system of administration.
In this By-Law:
A. 
"Alarm system" means a device or system that emits, transmits, or relates a signal intended to summon, or that would reasonably be expected to summon, police or fire services of the Town of Marblehead, including local alarms. "Alarm system" does not include:
(1) 
An alarm installed in a vehicle unless the vehicle is permanently located at a site;
(2) 
A local burglar alarm with no outside audible or visual signals.
B. 
"Alarm notification" means a notification intended to summon the Police or Fire Department, which is designed to be initiated manually by a person or automatically by an alarm system that responds to a stimulus characteristic of unauthorized intrusion or fire.
C. 
"Alarm site" means a single premises or location served by an alarm system or systems.
D. 
"Chief" means the Chief of the Police or Fire Department.
E. 
"False alarm" means an alarm notification to the Police or Fire Department, when the responding officer finds no evidence of a break-in, attempted break-in, smoke or fire. Excluded from this definition are:
(1) 
Alarms occurring during electrical storms, hurricane, tornado, blizzards and acts of God; or
(2) 
The intermittent disruption or disruption of the telephone circuits beyond the control of the alarm company and/or alarm user; or
(3) 
Electrical power disruption or failure; or
(4) 
Alarms caused by a failure of the equipment at the communications center.
F. 
"Local alarm" means an alarm system that emits a signal at an alarm site intended to be audible and/or visual from the outside of the structure.
G. 
"Permit holder" means the person designated in the application as required in § 6-3D(1) who is responsible for responding to alarms and giving access to the site and who is responsible for proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system and payment of fees.
H. 
"Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association or similar entity.
I. 
"Special trunkline" means a dedicated line (telephone company or Town provided) into the communications center of the Police Department for the purpose of receiving alarm notification transmitted directly or through an alarm monitoring company. This includes the 10 municipal fire alarm circuits.
J. 
"Professionally installed" means an alarm system installed or designed by an individual or company primarily engaged in the continuous and full-time business of selling, installing, servicing and maintaining security and fire alarm systems.
A. 
A person commits an offense if the person operates or causes to be operated an alarm system without a valid permit issued by the Chief. A separate permit is required for each alarm site.
B. 
Upon receipt of a completed application form and a nonrefundable permit fee of $25 for a new permit and $10 for a permit renewal, the Chief shall issue an alarm permit to an applicant unless the applicant has:
(1) 
Failed to pay a service fee assessed under § 6-13; or
(2) 
Had an alarm permit for the alarm site revoked, and the violation causing the revocation has not been corrected.
C. 
The fee shall only apply to those systems connected to the Police or Fire Department's monitoring systems.
D. 
Each application must include the following information:
(1) 
The name, address and telephone number of the person who will be the permit holder and be responsible for proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system and payment of fees assessed under this By-Law;
(2) 
The classification of the alarm site as residential or commercial or apartment;
(3) 
For each alarm system located at the alarm site, the purpose of the alarm system, i.e., burglary, fire, robbery, or personal hostage;
(4) 
Professionally installed systems shall include:
(a) 
The date of installation or maintenance of the alarm system; and
(b) 
The name, address and telephone number of the installing or maintenance company; and
(5) 
Other information required by the Chief that is necessary for the enforcement of this By-Law.
E. 
Any false statement of a material matter made by an applicant for the purpose of obtaining an alarm permit shall be sufficient cause for refusal to issue a permit.
F. 
An alarm permit cannot be transferred to another person. A permit holder shall inform the Chief of any change that alters any information listed on the permit application within 30 days. No fee will be assessed for such changes.
G. 
All fees owed by an applicant must be paid before a permit may be issued or renewed.
A permit expires one year from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually by submitting an updated application and permit renewal fee to the Chief. It is the responsibility of the permit holder to submit an application prior to the permit expiration date.
A. 
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system shall:
(1) 
Maintain the premises containing an alarm system in a manner that insures proper operation of the alarm system;
(2) 
Maintain the alarm system in a manner that will minimize false alarm notifications;
(3) 
Respond or cause a representative to respond within a reasonable period of time when notified by the Town to repair or deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access to the premises, or to provide security for the premises;
(4) 
Not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than the occurrence of an event that the alarm was intended to report.
B. 
Local alarm systems shall not have the audible signal sound for longer than 15 minutes for burglar alarms upon activation.
Alarm systems shall not reactivate without being manually reset unless the system is equipped with an automatic reset that limits the number of activations to three that will occur.
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system shall not allow alarm signals to be reported through an alarm monitoring company that does not comply with the requirements of this By-Law and any rules and regulations promulgated by the Chief.
A. 
A person who is engaged in the business of relaying alarm notifications to the Town shall:
(1) 
Report alarms over communication lines designated by the Chief;
(2) 
Communicate alarm notifications to the Town in a manner and form determined by the Chief.
B. 
Alarms requiring police response shall report to the Police Department and alarms requiring fire response shall report to the Fire Department.
A. 
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system whose alarm system transmits alarm notifications directly to the communications center of the Police or Fire Department shall:
(1) 
Transmit the alarm notification in the form and with the content specified by the Chief;
(2) 
Insure that any recorded message is intelligible;
(3) 
Insure that only the special trunkline designated by the Chief be used;
(4) 
Pay to the Town an administrative fee of $25 to connect to the communications center, in addition to an annual fee of $150 for monitoring services exclusive of any fees charged by the telephone company and/or the vendor supplying the communications center alarm receiving equipment;
(5) 
Execute a monitoring and indemnification agreement with the Town prior to the connection of any system to the communications center.
B. 
Alarms requiring police response shall report to the Police Department and alarms requiring fire response shall report to the Fire Department.
A person in control of an alarm system shall maintain at each alarm site a complete set of written operating instructions for each alarm system. Special codes, combinations, or passwords shall not be included in these instructions.
A. 
The officer responding to a dispatch from an alarm system notification shall record such information as necessary to permit the Chief to maintain records, including but not limited to the following information:
(1) 
Identification of the permit holder and/or responding agent;
(2) 
Identification of the alarm site;
(3) 
Dispatch and arrival time;
(4) 
Time of day, date;
(5) 
Weather conditions;
(6) 
Area of alarm;
(7) 
Name of installing or maintenance alarm company.
B. 
The officer shall indicate on the dispatch record whether or not the cause of the notification could be determined at the time of the response.
C. 
If the alarm is determined to be false, the responding officer may leave a notice at the alarm site indicating that an alarm notification was made and that the Police or Fire Department responded. The notice must include the following:
(1) 
The date and time of the response to the alarm notification;
(2) 
The identification of the responding officer; and
(3) 
A statement urging the permit holder to ensure that the alarm system is properly operated and maintained in order to avoid service fees.
If there is reason to believe that an alarm system is not being used or maintained in a manner that ensures proper operation and suppresses false alarms, the Chief may require a conference with an alarm permit holder to review the circumstances.
A. 
Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the holder of an alarm permit or the person in control of an alarm system shall pay a service fee for each false alarm notification that is emitted from an alarm site within a twelve-month period based upon the following schedule:
[Amended 5-7-2001 ATM by Art. 33]
Total for the Year
Action
1-3
No action
4-9
$60, each alarm
10 and over
$120 each, plus possible loss of permit
B. 
A person operating an alarm system without a valid permit is not entitled to any free false alarms but shall pay a one-hundred-dollar service fee for each false alarm notification and will be issued a citation for operating an alarm without a permit. The citation issued and service fee assessed under this subsection may be waived by the Chief if the operator of the alarm system files an alarm permit with the Chief within 10 days after the false alarm notification. An alarm notification for which a citation and service fee have been waived will not be counted in determining when a future service fee will be assessed.
C. 
If a person notifies the Chief and applies for an alarm permit within 10 days after the installation of a new alarm system, no service fee will be assessed during the first 30 days after the installation, and false alarm notifications during that period will not be counted in determining when a service fee will be assessed provided the system is professionally installed.
A. 
The Chief may revoke an alarm permit if it is determined that:
(1) 
There is a false statement of material matter in the application for a permit;
(2) 
The permit holder has violated § 6-5, 6-6, 6-7, 6-8, 6-9, 6-12, 6-18, 6-19, or 6-20;
(3) 
The permit holder has failed to make timely payment of a service fee assessed under § 6-13; or
(4) 
Ten or more false alarm notifications have been emitted from the alarm site within the permit term.
B. 
A person commits an offense if they operate an alarm system during the period in which their alarm permit is revoked.
A. 
If the Chief refuses to issue or renew a permit, or revokes a permit, the Chief shall send to the applicant or permit holder by certified mail, return receipt requested, written notice of the Chief's action and a statement of the right to an appeal. The applicant or permit holder may appeal the decision of the Chief to the Select Board or their designated person by filing a written request for a hearing, setting forth the reasons for the appeal, within 10 days after receipt of the notice from the Chief. The filing of a request for an appeal hearing with the Select Board or their designated person stays an action of the Chief in revoking a permit until the Select Board or their designated person makes a final decision. If a request for an appeal hearing is not made within the ten-day period, the action of the Chief is final. A hearing under § 6-12 requires the attendance of the permit holder.
B. 
The Select Board or their designated person shall serve as hearing officer at an appeal and consider evidence by any interested person. The formal rules of evidence do not apply at an appeal hearing; the hearing officer shall make their decision on the basis of a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing. The hearing officer must render a decision within 30 days after the request for an appeal hearing is held. The hearing officer shall affirm, reverse, or modify the action of the Chief. The decision of the hearing officer is final as to administrative remedies with the Town.
A person whose alarm permit has been revoked may be issued a new permit if the person:
A. 
Submits an updated application and pays a twenty-five-dollar new permit fee;
B. 
Pays, or otherwise resolves, all citations in Municipal Court issued to the person under this By-Law; and
C. 
Pays all outstanding service fees assessed under this By-Law.
A. 
A person commits an offense if the person violates by commission or omission any provision of this By-Law that imposes upon the person a duty or responsibility.
B. 
A person who violates a provision of this By-Law is guilty of a separate offense for each day or portion of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or permitted, and each offense is punishable by a fine of not more than $300, but not less than $100 upon first conviction and not less than $200 upon second and subsequent convictions.
A. 
Any alarm system emitting a continuous and uninterrupted signal for more than 30 minutes which cannot be shut off or otherwise curtailed due to the absence or unavailability of the alarm user or those persons designated by the alarm user which disturbs the peace shall constitute a public nuisance. Upon receiving complaints regarding such a continuous and uninterrupted signal, the Police Department shall attempt to record the names and addresses of complainants and the time each complaint is made. In the event that the Police Department is unable to contact the alarm user or those persons designated by the alarm user or if the aforesaid persons cannot or will not curtail the audible signal emitted by the alarm system, and if the Police Department is otherwise unable to abate the nuisance, the Police Chief or the Police Chief's designee may direct a police officer or fire fighter or a qualified alarm technician to enter the home or building in which the alarm system is located and take any reasonable action necessary to abate the nuisance.
B. 
Whenever entry is made in accordance with this section, the person so entering such property shall:
(1) 
Not conduct, engage in, or undertake in any search, seizure, inspection or investigation while the person is on the property;
(2) 
Not cause any unnecessary damage to the alarm system or to any part of the home or building;
(3) 
Leave the property immediately after the audible signal has ceased.
C. 
After entry upon property has been made in accordance with this section, the Police Department shall have the property secured, if necessary, the reasonable costs and expenses of abating a nuisance in accordance with this section will be assessed to the alarm user.
A. 
It is the sole responsibility of the alarm user to obtain and renew all alarm permits regardless of who owns the alarm equipment.
B. 
All fees, assessments and fines are the sole responsibility of the alarm user and/or the permit holder for the alarm system.
C. 
If an alarm service company fails to repair or refuses to repair a malfunctioning alarm system, it is the responsibility of the alarm user to take whatever action necessary to abate false alarms.