Sec. 168.102. - Definitions.

As used in this Chapter: (a) Alarm Control Officer means the person designated by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to administer, control and review false alarm reduction efforts and administers the provisions of this Chapter. (b) Alarm Contractor means any person, group, firm, partnership, proprietorship, corporation, business entity, governmental entity, utility, or educational entity that installs, maintains, alters, repairs, monitors, inspects, replaces or services alarm systems for compensation. An Alarm Contractor shall possess a current and appropriate occupational license from the City and the County, an Alarm Contractor's Registration Certificate issued by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and where applicable, shall meet the requirements for an alarm system contractor pursuant to F.S. Chapter 489. Alarm Contractors shall maintain a 24 hour emergency telephone number and shall be capable of responding to an emergency service call within four hours. (c) Alarm Contractor's Registration Certificate means a certificate issued by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office allowing Alarm Contractors to operate in Duval County, excluding the Beaches. (d) Alarm Permit Number means a permit issued by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office allowing the operation of an Alarm System within Duval County, excluding the Beaches. (e) Alarm Permit Year means a 12-month period beginning and ending on the day and month on which an Alarm Permit Number is issued. (f) Alarm Registration means the notification by an Alarm Contractor or an Alarm User to the Alarm Control Officer that an Alarm System has been installed and is in use at an Alarm Site. (g) Alarm Signal means the audible sound or a transmission of a signal or a message as the result of the activation of an Alarm System or an audible alarm. (h) Alarm Site means a single fixed premises or location served by an Alarm System. Each unit, if served by a separate alarm system in a multi-unit building shall be considered a separate alarm site. (i) Alarm User means any person, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, governmental or educational entity or any other person or entity owning, leasing, or operating an Alarm System, or on whose premises an Alarm System is used. (j) Alarm User Awareness Class means a class conducted for the purpose of educating Alarm Users about the responsible use, operation, and maintenance of Alarm Systems and the problems created by false alarms. (k) Alarm System means any mechanical or electrical or radio- controlled device, or other such similar devices, which is designed to be used for the detection of smoke or fire or any unauthorized entry into a building, structure or facility, or for alerting others of the commission of an unlawful act within a building, structure or facility, or both, which emits a sound or transmits a signal or message when activated. Alarm Systems include direct dial telephone devices, audible, silent, fire and panic alarms and proprietor alarms. Excluded from the definition of Alarm Systems are devices which are not designed or used to register alarms that are audible, visible or perceptible outside of the protected building, structure or facility; or auxiliary devices installed by telephone companies to protect telephone systems from damage or disruption of service; or audible alarms that are affixed to motor vehicles. If an Alarm System is designed to activate an audible alarm, the Alarm System shall be designed so as to automatically deactivate the audible alarm after 15 minutes of operation. (l) Automatic Dial Protection Device means an automatic dialing device or an automatic telephone dialing Alarm System and shall include any system which, upon being activated, automatically initiates to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office a recorded message or code signal indicating a need for law enforcement response. (m) The Beaches means the cities of Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Neptune Beach within Duval County. (n) Cancellation means the process where response is terminated when the Alarm Contractor (designated by the Alarm User) notifies the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office that there is not an existing situation at the Alarm Site requiring law enforcement response after an alarm dispatch request. If cancellation occurs prior to law enforcement arriving at the scene, this is not a false alarm for the purpose of civil penalty, and no penalty will be assessed. (o) Commercial Premises means any structure or area which is not defined herein as Residential Premises. (p) False Alarm. An alarm is false within the meaning of this Chapter when, upon inspection by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, evidence indicates that no unauthorized entry, robbery, or other such crime was committed or attempted in or on the premises which would have activated a properly functioning Alarm System. (q) Non-Monitored Alarm means an Alarm System that emits a signal at an Alarm Site that is audible or visible from the exterior of a structure and is not monitored by a registered Alarm Contractor, whether installed by an Alarm Contractor or Alarm User. (r) Notice of Alarm Violation means a notification of a false alarm by mail or by personal service upon the Alarm User provided by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office when it is determined that there is no evidence of a crime or other activity which warrants a call for immediate police assistance. (s) Panic/Distress; Robbery Alarm means alarms that are designed to be manually triggered (usually via an alarm button or keypad) to notify an alarm monitoring company without emitting an audible signal. (t) Residential Premises means any structure or combination of structures which serve as dwelling units, including single- family as well as multifamily units. (u) Runaway Alarm means an Alarm System that produces repeated alarm signals that do not appear to be caused by separate human action. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office may in its discretion discontinue responses to signals from what appears to be a Runaway Alarm. (v) SIA Control Panel Standard CP-01 means the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) approved Security Industry Association (SIA) CP-01 Control Panel Standard, as may be updated from time to time, that details recommended design features for security system control panels and their associated arming and disarming devices to reduce false alarms. Control panels built and tested to this standard by a nationally recognized testing organization, will be marked to state: "Design evaluated in accordance with SIA CP-01 Control Panel Standard Features for False Alarm Reduction". (w) Telephone Alarm Device means any device which, when activated, automatically transmits a recorded alarm signal to any telephone instrument installed in the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. (x) Verify means an attempt by the Alarm Contractor, or its representative, to contact the Alarm Site and/or Alarm User by telephone and/or other electronic means, whether or not actual contact with a person is made, to attempt to determine whether an Alarm Signal is valid before requesting law enforcement dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request. For the purpose of this Chapter, telephone verification shall require as a minimum that a second call, also known as "Enhanced Call Verification," be made to a different number, if the first attempt fails to reach an Alarm User who can properly identify himself or herself to attempt to determine whether an Alarm Signal is valid before requesting law enforcement dispatch. (Ord. 2016-562-E , § 2)