Useful
Information from the Seattle Police Department
What
alarm customers need to know about ....
The
Seattle False Alarm Ordinance:
• Alarm
companies and monitoring companies must be licensed with the City. They
must hold a valid business license as well as a valid alarm-monitoring
license. Your alarm company should be able to provide you with their
Unique Identifying Number (UIN), which is issued by the City to
licensed monitoring companies. The Seattle Police Department will not
respond to dispatch requests from known unlicensed alarm companies.
(SMC 6.10.010).
•
Monitoring companies must
utilize enhanced call verification (or a statutory alternative) by
making at least two (2) phone calls in an attempt to verify the alarm
before calling 911. (SMC 10.08.165 (D )).
• If an
Administrative Hearing is requested regarding Pending No Response
Status, both the alarm user and the monitoring company must have a representative
present at the hearing. (SMC 10.08.178 (D ))
• All
false alarms are billed to the alarm company. The fee for a false alarm
is $90.00. The fee for a dispatched alarm call where an officer has not
yet arrived is $30.00. There is no fee if the request for dispatch is
cancelled before an officer is dispatched. (SMC 6.10.100).
•
Subscribers are entitled to a waiver of one false alarm fee if they
attend an Alarm User Workshop within 120 days of the false alarm. This
waiver is available to alarm users only once every seven (7) years. The
class is held at Seattle Police Headquarters. (SMC 6.10.110).
•
Subscribers are entitled to a waiver of one false alarm fee if they opt
to switch to private guard response.
•
Elderly subscribers (70 years old and older) are entitled to a waiver
of one false alarm fee if they elect to have the Seattle Police
Department conduct an on-site security survey.
•
Locations that have six or more false alarms of any type in a
consecutive 12 month period and at
least one false alarm in the 60 days prior to notification will have
their alarm company notified of the pending No Response Status. The
False Alarm unit also sends a courtesy copy to the alarmed address.
False alarms include alarms where officers are dispatched, but
cancelled prior to arrival.
Seattle
Police Department’s No Response Policy:
• Alarm
companies and subscribers receive the Pending
Notice of No Response, alarm companies by certified mail,
subscribers by first class mail.
• The alarm company has 10 business days
to request an administrative hearing to provide evidence that they have
made significant effort to rectify their false alarm problem.
• Both
the alarm user and the monitoring company must have a representative
present at the hearing.
•
Hearings are only done in person, not telephonically.
•
Hearings are generally available weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• The
most common result of a hearing is a 90-day probationary period.
• If no
hearing is requested, the evidence is not sufficient or the location
experiences a false alarm while on probation, that location will be
placed on No Response Status for one year.
•
Notification of No Response Status is mailed to the alarm company and
the subscriber, alarm companies by first class mail, subscribers by
certified mail.
• While
on No Response Status, the Seattle Police Department will not respond to “any
automatic intrusion or property burglar alarm signals." There are
some exceptions.
• The
Seattle Police Department will
respond to all panic/robbery/duress alarms regardless of No Response
Status. lf it is another false alarm, the fee will be assessed.
The
most common causes of false alarms:
•
Vendors, employees and other authorized people are not trained in the
use of the system or the cancellation procedures.
•
Balloons, plants, banners, pets and anything else that can move. Motion
detectors only detect motion, not intent or crime.
• Low
batteries.
•
People trying to beat the clock - if you need to re-enter your
business/home, turn the alarm off. Do not activate your alarm until you
are ready to leave.
• "One
plus" duress codes which allows the alarm to appear to be turned off
but in reality sends a panic signal. This is often done by adding one
number to your code (if your alarm code is 9753, the "one plus panic"
code would be 9754). Many users are unaware that they even have this on
their panel.
• Home
remodeling or moving furniture can change the coverage zones for alarm
sensors.
• A door or window that is not locked
and is inadvertently opened while the alarm is set. Your alarm will do
no good if you do not lock your doors and windows.
Froula
Alarm Systems, Inc. Ordinance Page