Alarm Permits

APPLICANTS APPLYING FOR AN ALARM PERMIT SHOULD BE AWARE:

1. The alarm permit being issued at this time will be valid only until the end of that year and the permit will have to be renewed prior to January 1 of the next year.

2. Each permit is valid for only one (1) alarm site. For example: an applicant has an alarm at his residence and one at his place of business, then the applicant will need two (2) permits.

3. If an alarm is the type that sounds at the ALARM COMPANY (a business that specializes in monitoring alarms and notifying the Police Department that an alarm has been activated at a certain place) the person owning the site where the alarm is located must obtain a Class "A" permit. The fee for a Class "A" permit is ten ($10.00) dollars per calendar year.

4. If the premises has an audible alarm at the protected site and is the ONLY existing alarm, which is not monitored by any other alarm company, then the person owning the protected premises needs to obtain a Class "B" permit. The fee for a Class "B" permit is ten ($10.00) dollars per calendar year.

5. Class "C" permits are to be issued only to hospitals, banks, and similar institutions. These alarms are monitored through the Police Headquarters. The fee for a Class "C" permits is two hundred and fifty ($250.00) dollars per calendar year.

6. No more than one permit fee is necessary for the same alarm site unless different designated classes of permits are used. Then one permit for each designated class is necessary.

7. An alarm permit cannot be transferred to another person. A permit holder must notify the Chief of Police in writing of any changes that alters any information listed on the permit application within ten (10) working days of the change.

8. Brownsville Police Department will respond to six (6) false alarms within a calendar year without charging a service fee against the permit holder, but for the 7th false alarm a service fee with be applied according to the following applicant under these guidelines.

9. If during any one (1) calendar year the Brownsville Police Department has to respond between seven (7) to twelve (12) false alarms at any alarm site, a service fee of fifty ($50.00) dollars will be applied against the permit holder.

10. If during any one (1) calendar year the Brownsville Police Department has to respond between thirteen (13) to twenty (20) false alarms at any alarm site, a service fee will be applied in the amount of one hundred ($100.00) dollars against the permit holder.

11. If during any one (1) calendar year the Brownsville Police Department has to respond to more than twenty-one (21) false alarms at any alarm site, a service fee of two hundred and fifty ($250.00) dollars will be applied against the permit holder.

12. Any alarm systems that transmit a telephonic recorded message to the Brownsville Police Department are not permitted and is in violation provided that manually operated recording systems utilized by handicapped persons are authorized, if such system is designed and approved in the ALARM PERMIT.

13. A permit holder must:

    • Maintain premises containing an alarm system in a manner that insures proper operation of the alarm system.

    • Maintain the alarm site in a manner that will minimize false alarms.

    • To respond or cause a representative to respond within thirty- (30) minutes when urged by the City to repair or inactivate a malfunctioning alarm system to the alarm site or provide security to the alarm site.

14. A person in control of any audible system must adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so that the alarm signal will sound for no long than 15 minutes after being activated.

15. A permit holder must be maintain at each alarm site with complete set of written operating instructions for each alarm system. Special codes or passwords need not be included.

For any questions, please call the Alarm Permits Clerk at (956)548-7033