Alarms - City of Bartow Ordinance 1854-A

Did you know:

• False alarms take police, fire, and emergency medical personnel away from real emergencies
• False alarms can endanger responding authorities and our community
• False alarms reduce the perceived reliability of your security system
• False alarms may make you reluctant to use your system, thereby exposing your home and/or business to undetected hazards
• False alarms waste taxpayers' money.

How can you help? Approximately 76% of all false alarms, both commercial and residential are caused by user error. One of the biggest actions you can take to prevent false alarms is to make certain your alarm company has up-to-date information and you must register your alarm through the City of Bartow today!

The City of Bartow adopted a False Alarm Ordinance on June 21, 1999. This ordinance, 1854-A, requires that all alarm users register alarm systems within 30 days of installation, in order to avoid false alarm charges. To read this ordinance, go to: City of Bartow Alarm Ordinance 1854-A

Registering your alarm system is free! Once registered, you will not be charged for the first two false alarms within a 365-day period.

Once you have registered your alarm, you will not be charged for the first two incidents, although there will be a charge for three or more incidents. If your alarm is not registered, and the Police or Fire Department is dispatched to your home or business, the following charges will apply:

Emergency Contact Information

Once you have registered your alarm system, you must make sure the information you provided in your registration application is current. Whether you have a personal alarm system at your residence, or you have a business with an alarm system, you are responsible for updating the emergency representative information as it changes. If the information and/or contact person changes, you must notify the police department as soon as possible with the new contact's name and number. If the information has not been updated, and the police respond to an alarm at your home or business, they will not be able to contact you.

This could result in false alarm charges.

If you receive a notice of violation (false alarm calls) from the Bartow Police Department or the Bartow Fire Department, you will have ten days to pay the fine or contact the Code Enforcement Board for a hearing.

For your convenience, you may fill out the alarm registration form.

• Email the completed form to us.
• You may also mail or deliver the form to Bartow Police Department
  Attention: Alarms
  450 B Broadway Avenue
  Bartow, FL 33830

Registering your alarm system is free! If you have questions about registering your alarm system, or you need to update the Emergency Contact Information, please call Kathryn Jones at 863-534-5034 between the hours of Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm.

Your Bartow Police and Fire Departments are ready to respond when your system activates. Please help us, help you, by eliminating false alarms and calls for service.