§ 27-6. Penalty for false alarms.

(a)

No person shall activate any holdup or panic alarm for the purpose of summoning police except in the event of an unauthorized entry, robbery or other crime being committed or attempted on the premises or in the event the person needs immediate assistance in order to avoid injury or bodily harm. The unnecessary dispatching of police for holdup or panic alarms will be counted against the alarm site as a false alarm.

(b)

The sending of a false alarm constitutes a violation of this section. Administrative warnings, fines, and/or suspension of a police response may be assessed/imposed upon an alarm system user by the alarm administrator for excessive false alarms during a calendar year as follows:

(1)

For the first false alarm, no fine will be assessed.

(2)

For the second false alarm, the alarm system user will be liable for a fine of $75.00.

(3)

For the third false alarm, the alarm system user will be liable for a fine of $150.00.

(4)

For the fourth false alarm, the alarm system user will be liable for a fine of $150.00 and a notice of suspension will be issued ("No response" by police).

It shall be the responsibility of the police department or the superintendent's designee to collect such fines.

(c)

At the end of the calendar year, the false alarm count will revert to zero, provided all charges, fees, and fines have been paid.

(d)

Upon receipt of the first false alarm report, the alarm administrator shall send a notification of false alarm and alarm user identification letter by regular mail to the owner or occupant of the alarm site as well as the alarm system monitoring company. The alarm system user shall be accountable for accurately completing the requested identification information and returning same to the alarm administrator. Failure to return the alarm user identification letter within 15 days after the false alarm report notification shall cause the alarm administrator to send a suspension notification letter by certified mail to the owner or occupant of the alarm site, notifying the recipient that the police will not respond to any future alarms at the alarm site.

(e)

After the second false alarm, the alarm administrator shall send notification to the alarm system user by regular mail and a copy by regular mail to the alarm system monitoring company, which shall contain the following information:

(1)

That the second false alarm has occurred and that if two more false alarms occur within the calendar year, police officers will not respond to any subsequent alarms without the approval of the superintendent through the alarm administrator.

(2)

That the alarm system user has the right to contest the finding of a false alarm or apply for reinstatement, and that such appeal may only be filed by following the procedures outlined in section 27-7.

(3)

The assessment of the $75.00 fine to the alarm system user.

(f)

After the third false alarm within a calendar year, the alarm administrator shall send notification to the alarm system user by regular mail and a copy by regular mail to the alarm system monitoring company, which shall contain the following information:

(1)

That the third false alarm has occurred and that if one more false alarm occurs within the calendar year, police officers will not respond to any subsequent alarms without the approval of the superintendent through the alarm administrator.

(2)

That the alarm system user has the right to contest the finding of a false alarm or apply for reinstatement, and that such appeal may only be filed by following the procedures outlined in section 27-7.

(3)

The assessment of the $150.00 fine to the alarm system user.

(g)

After the fourth false alarm within a calendar year or if an alarm system user has failed to submit the alarm user identification letter within 15 days of receipt of the first false alarm report notification, there will be no police response to subsequent alarms without the approval of the superintendent through the alarm administrator. The alarm administrator shall send a "notice of suspension of police response" to:

(1)

The commander of the police department communications division so that the computer aided dispatch address file history can be recorded.

(2)

The alarm system user by certified mail and for the fourth false alarm within the calendar year, a fine of $150.00 shall also be imposed on the alarm system user.

(3)

The alarm system monitoring company by certified mail.

The suspension of police response to an alarm site shall begin 15 days after the date of receipt of the notice of suspension of police response to the alarm system user unless a written appeal of the suspension has been made to the superintendent through the alarm administrator.

(h)

If an assessed fine has not been paid within 30 days of the day the notice of fine was mailed by the alarm administrator and there is no appeal pending on the finding of the false alarm, the alarm administrator shall send a second notice of false alarm and fine by certified mail along with a notice of late fee of $25.00. If payment is not received within ten days of the day such notice was received, the alarm system user shall be in violation of this section and liable for a fine of $100.00 and such delinquent payment may result in "no response" to the alarm system user's alarm. In the case of no response, a "notice of suspension of police response" shall be sent by the alarm administrator to the alarm system user and alarm system monitoring company by certified mail.

(i)

The police department is authorized by this section to use discretion in deciding whether to direct police units to an alarm site where a suspension of police response has been implemented and there has been a report made that police assistance or investigation is needed. The police department is also authorized to use discretion in responding to alarm sites serviced by alarm monitoring companies that have a record of persistently violating the requirements of section 27-3, as evidenced by repeated violations of these requirements over a period of six months or more.

(j)

It shall be a violation of this section for an alarm system user or alarm monitoring company to cause or allow notification to the police department from an alarm site which has a suspended police response status. Alarm systems under suspension must be prevented from causing notification to the police department by an alarm system monitoring company, unless the monitoring company is reporting a crime that has been verified as a result of a video feed or citizen report. For each false alarm reported while under suspension, the alarm system user is liable for a fine of $200.00 and the alarm monitoring company for a fine of $200.00.

(k)

Fines assessed under this section shall not be applicable to alarm systems installed upon premises occupied by the United States Government, by the State of Louisiana, or by the City of New Orleans.

(l)

The city may create and implement an alarm user awareness class and may request the area alarm companies to assist in developing and implementing the class. The alarm user awareness class, shall, at a minimum, inform alarm users of the problems created by false alarms and instruct alarm users on ways to help reduce false alarms. The alarm administrator may grant the option of attending a class in lieu of paying one assessed fine, not to exceed $75.00. The alarm administrator shall also have discretion to waive one $75.00 fine if the alarm user presents verification by the alarm monitoring company or designee of additional training and equipment check. A credit shall be granted for the alarm user awareness class or documented training and equipment check, but not both, in a calendar year.

(M.C.S., Ord. No. 18,230, § 1, 5-15-97; M.C.S., Ord. No. 26459, § 1, 6-18-15)