Alarm Unit

Alarm Management Unit

815 Wheeler Ave.
Huntsville, Alabama 35801
Main: (256) 427-5621
  Fax: (256) 427-5622

ALL COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL ALARM SYSTEMS MUST BE REGISTERED

City of Huntsville Alarm Ordinance

2010 Alarm Registration Packet (business)

2010 Monitoring Station Registration

The Residential Alarm Registration Form Must Be Obtained From the Alarm Office (sample document)

The Huntsville Police Alarm Management Unit was established to help cut down on the number of false alarms called in to the Police Department. The Huntsville Police Department is required to respond to all alarm calls as "first priority" so if these calls are false then time and money are being wasted. Our Alarm Unit intends to help promote effective community safety from our alarm providers.

Rex Bell who is the Alarm Administrator, is your contact should you need information on quality alarm service here in the Huntsville area. His office number is (256) 427-5646. All false alarms are documented and accessed. For questions regarding alarm registration or other documents please contact Linda Garner.

Office Hours-Monday thru Friday
8:30a.m.-11:30a.m. & 1:30p.m. thru 3:30p.m.
***Excluding City of Huntsville holidays***
**Appointments are suggested**

City of Huntsville Alarm Permit Fees

Type of Permit	Amount	Term
Residential (New or Renewal)	$10	12 Months
Business (New or Renewal)	$10	12 Months

City of Huntsville False Alarm Fines & Penalties

First and Second         FAN (false alarm notification)
Third and Fourth          FAN
Fifth and Sixth            FAN
Seventh thru Ninth       FAN
Tenth and Subsequent FAN
Failure to Attend Alarm Class
TO ALL FINES, ADD COURT COST

Warning Only
Attend False Alarm Class
$25 fine & False Alarm Class
$50 fine & False Alarm Class
$100 fine & False Alarm Class
50 fine
$198.00

What to Expect if Your Alarm Goes Off and HPD Responds

After responding the officer will turn into the Alarm Management Unit a report of the alarm and possible cause and if anyone was present to explain the alarm.
The Alarm Management Unit will then send a notice to the property owner or manager. This notice will show the date and time of the activation along with any other activations and whether previous alarms were excused or not.
You should respond either by mail or fax to the cause of the alarm. If there was a technical problem with the alarm system, an Alarm Company service ticket should be included in the response.
If there is a response and it is found to be valid then the alarm will be excused and no further action is needed.
If there is no response or the the response is invalid then the alarm will remain not excused and may require attendance of a False Alarm Prevention Class or other fines and fees.

The following is some information to help residents understand the purpose of an alarm and the city's alarm ordinance.

Info/Facts: 98%of all alarm activations are false alarms. 45% of alarm sites go all year without a false alarm. 35% have two or less. 20% create 85% of all false alarms, 5% create 50% of the false alarm problems, 79% of alarm users do not really have full knowledge of their system and its use, 89% of all false alarms are caused by people's carelessness.

A false alarm shall mean an alarm notification or dispatch summoning the Police Department to the location of the alarm activation and the responding officer finds no evidence of the crimes or the attempted crimes of burglary, robbery, or any other criminal offense, after having completed an inspection of the interior or exterior of the premises.