§ 18-89. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. In those cases wherein a word or words are not defined, its definition shall be as found in Black's Law Dictionary, latest edition, or in American Heritage College Dictionary, third edition.

Alarm means a signal (audio or visual, recorded or live) transmitted to a law enforcement agency or the fire district indicating a predetermined condition. Said alarm is received either:

(1)

Via a private alarm service company relayed to a law enforcement agency or fire district telephone.

(2)

Via an audible/visual signal relayed to a law enforcement agency or fire district by a third party.

Alarm agent means any person employed by an alarm business whose duties include altering, installing, maintaining, moving, repairing, replacing, selling, servicing, and responding to an alarm system.

Alarm business means any business operated by a person for a profit whose duties include altering, installing, maintaining, monitoring, moving, repairing, replacing, selling, servicing, and responding to an alarm system.

Alarm dispatch request means a notification to 911 central communications by the alarm business that an alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular alarm site.

Alarm permit means a permit issued by the county or its third party alarm administrator allowing the operation of an alarm system within the county.

Alarm site means a single premises or location served by an alarm system or systems. Each tenancy served by a separate alarm system in a multi-tenant building or complex shall be considered a separate alarm site.

Alarm system means any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to:

(1)

Signal the occurrence of a forced entry, fire, or other activity requiring urgent attention and to which law enforcement or the fire district is expected to respond, and/or

(2)

Monitor and/or annunciate the status of alarm or supervisory devices.

Alarm user means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind in control of any building, structure or facility or portion thereof wherein an alarm system is maintained.

Annunciator means the instrumentation on an alarm console at the receiving terminal of a signal line which through both visual and audible signals show when an alarm device at a particular location has been activated or when line trouble is indicated.

ANSI stands for the American National Standards Institute.

Answering service refers to a telephone answering service providing among its services the service of receiving emergency signals from alarm systems on a continuous basis directed through trained employees, and thereafter immediately relaying the message by live voice to the 911 communications center.

Automatic dialing device refers to an alarm system which automatically sends over regular telephone lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a prerecorded voice message or coded signal indicating the existence of the emergency situation that the alarm system is designated to detect.

Automatic holdup alarm system means an alarm system in which the signal transmission is initiated by the action of the intruder.

Burglar alarm means an alarm system designated to indicate a condition of illegal forced entry or illegal attempted forced entry.

Central station means an office to which remote alarm and supervisory signaling devices are connected, where operators supervise the circuits.

Central station equipment refers to the signal receiving, recording, or transmitting equipment installed in the central station.

Central station system means a system in which operation of electrical protection circuits and devices are signaled automatically to, recorded in, maintained, and supervised from a central station having trained operators in attendance at all times.

Conversion means the transaction or process by which one alarm business begins monitoring of an alarm system previously monitored by another alarm business.

County means, St. Lucie County, and for the purposes of this section only shall include the City of Fort Pierce, the City of Port St. Lucie, and the St. Lucie County Fire District, unless otherwise specified.

Direct connect means an alarm system which has the capability of transmitting system signals to and receiving them at an agency maintained by the local government: for example, a police communication center.

Direct line means a telephone line leading directly from a central station to the communication center of 911 and the fire department that is for use only to report emergency signals on a person-to-person basis. Direct lines are not permitted to any law enforcement center.

False alarm means the activation of an alarm system through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation, or negligence of the owner, user, custodian, or lessee of an alarm system, or his employees requiring an emergency response, when in fact an emergency does not exist or the activation of the alarm, whether intentional or unintentional. False alarms do not include:

(1)

Alarms caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or other violent conditions.

(2)

Alarms covered by F.S. § 806.101.

False alarm dispatch means an alarm dispatch request to a law enforcement and/or fire department, when the responding officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense or fire after having completed a timely investigation of the alarm site. An alarm dispatch which is canceled by the alarm business or the alarm user prior to the time the responding officer reaches the alarm site shall not be considered a false alarm dispatch.

Fire alarm means an alarm system designated to indicate the presence of fire or smoke is in progress immediately preceding the alarm.

Fire department means the county fire district.

Fire district means the St. Lucie County Fire District.

Holdup alarm system refers to an alarm system signaling a robbery or attempted robbery.

Interconnect means to connect an alarm system to a voice grade telephone line, either directly or through a mechanical device that utilizes a standard telephone, for the purpose of using the telephone line to transmit an emergency message upon the activation of the alarm system.

Law enforcement agency , means the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, the City of Fort Pierce Police Department and/or the City of Port St. Lucie Police Department.

Law enforcement executive means the sheriff and/or police chiefs in the county, or their designated representative.

Local alarm system refers to a signaling system which when activated causes an audible and/or visual signaling device to be activated in or on the premises within which the system is installed.

Manual holdup alarm system refers to an alarm system in which the signal transmission is initiated by the direct action of the person attacked or by an observer of the attack.

Medical alarm means an alarm system designated to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and to summon emergency medical personnel.

Modified central station means an office to which remote alarm and supervisory signaling devices are connected, where operators supervise the circuits. Such a modified central station is not listed by Underwriter's Laboratories.

Monitoring means the process by which an alarm business receives signals from alarm systems and relays an alarm dispatch request to 911 central communications for the purpose of summoning police response to the alarm site.

Occupied residential dwelling unit means an occupied dwelling that is used as a residence by a single housekeeping unit.

Primary trunkline means a telephone line leading directly into the communication center of any law enforcement agency that is for the purpose of handling emergency calls on a person-to-person basis, and which is identified as such by a specific number included among the emergency numbers listed in the telephone directory issued by the telephone company and covering the service area within the county.

Proprietary system means an alarm system sounding and/or recording alarm and supervisory signals at a control center located within the protected premises, the control center being under the supervision of the proprietor of the protected premises. If a proprietary system includes a signal line connected directly or by means of automatic dialing device to a police communication center, a central station, or answering service, the system is an alarm system as defined in this chapter.

Record title owner means the person or persons in whose name title to real property are recorded on the public records.

Remote signaling system means an alarm signaling system which when activated by an alarm device transmits a signal from an alarm signaling device to a central location, other than the law enforcement agency, fire district, and/or the 911 center where appropriate action is taken to investigate and respond to the signal.

Robbery alarm means an alarm system designated to indicate a robbery (holdup) is in progress immediately preceding the alarm, or the activation of a device designed to signal duress or the activation of a device to signal an ambush is in progress immediately preceding the alarm.

Signal line refers to the transmission line through which the signal passes from one of the elements of the signal transmission to another.

Special trunkline means a telephone line leading into the communication center of any law enforcement agency and having the primary purpose of handling emergency signals or messages originating either directly or through a central location from automatic dialing devices.

Takeover means the transaction or process by which an alarm user takes over control of an existing alarm system which was previously controlled by another alarm user.

Telephone company means the utility that furnishes telephone services to the citizens of the county.

UL stands for Underwriters' Laboratories.

Verify means an attempt, by the alarm business or its representative, to contact the alarm site and/or the designated contact person by telephone or other electronic means, whether or not actual contact with a person is made, before requesting a law enforcement and/or fire department dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request.

(Code 1982, § 1-2.5-3; Ord. No. 87-44, pt. A, 11-17-1987; Ord. No. 99-10, pt. A, 8-24-1999; Ord. No. 2015-005 , pt. A, 5-19-2015; Ord. No. 2016-005 , pt. A, 4-5-2016; Ord. No. 2016-011 , pt. A, 7-5-2016)