§ 50-332. 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:

Alarm administrator means a person or persons designated by the Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri (BOPC) to administer, control and review alarm applications, permits and alarm dispatch requests.

Alarm agent means any person who is employed by an alarm business either directly or indirectly, whose duties include any of the following: selling, maintaining, testing, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing in any building, structure or facility any alarm system, excluding any person who installs an alarm system in a home wherein that person personally resides.

Alarm business means the business, by an individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, installing or monitoring an alarm system in an alarm site.

Alarm dispatch request means a notification to the police that an alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular alarm site.

Alarm review board shall consist of the members of the Board of Police Commissioners of Kansas City, Missouri, as established by RSMo 84.350, et seq., or their designee or designees.

Alarm sales person shall be any person who is employed by an alarm business either directly or indirectly, whose duties include selling any alarm system.

Alarm site means a single premises or location served by an alarm system or systems. Each tenancy, if 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, device or series of devices, including, but not limited to, systems interconnected with wire or radio frequency signals, which are designed to discourage crime, by emitting or transmitting a remote or local audible, visual or electronic signal indicating an alarm condition. Alarm system does not include:

(1)

An alarm installed on a vehicle unless the vehicle is permanently located at a site; or

(2)

An alarm designed to alert only the inhabitants of a premises that does not have a sounding device which can be heard on the exterior of the alarm site.

Alarm user means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other entity who (which) uses an alarm system at an alarm site.

Chief means the Chief of Police of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department or his authorized designee.

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

False alarm means an alarm signal eliciting a police response when a situation requiring an immediate response does not in fact exist, such as when no breach of security has been attempted or committed. An alarm will not be considered a false alarm if it is determined that the alarm was caused by:

(1)

Natural or manmade catastrophe, or an act of God. Such events include tornadoes, floods, earthquakes or other similar violent conditions.

(2)

Vandalism causing physical damage to the premises.

(3)

Telephone line outage.

(4)

Attempted entry of a location causing visible, physical or other evidence of damage to the location which has caused the alarm to sound.

(5)

Severe weather causing activation of an alarm system.

(6)

The test of a local alarm system by a licensed alarm business agent or employee who is present at the premises servicing, repairing or installing the alarm.

False alarm dispatch means an alarm dispatch request to the police department, when the responding officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense after having completed an investigation of the alarm site. An alarm dispatch request 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.

False alarm user awareness class means a class jointly sponsored, conducted and operated by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department and the alarm industry for the purpose of educating alarm users about the problems created by false alarm dispatches and the responsible use of their alarm system.

Holdup alarm means a silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.

Keypad means a device that allows control of an alarm system by the manual entering of a coded sequence of number or letters.

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

One plus duress alarm means the manual activation of a silent alarm signal by entering at a keypad a code that adds one to the last digit of the normal arm/disarm code (normal code = 1234 one plus duress code = 1235).

Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization or similar entity.

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.

Verify means an attempt, by the alarm business, or its representative, to contact the alarm site by telephonic or other electronic means, whether or not actual contact with a person is made, before requesting a police dispatch.

(Ord. No. 970277, § A, 5-1-97; Ord. No. 971601, § A, 3-12-98)