Due to some November 2015 revisions made to the town's alarm system ordinance, the town now requires people with police-response alarm systems to annually register their devices with the police department, according to Lieutenant David Kullgren.

Police-response alarms include burglar alarms, holdup alarms, and panic/duress alarms.

The town's alarm ordinance for years has required anyone who has police-response alarm systems at their residences or businesses to register those alarms with the police department. The ordinance revisions now require that alarm system users annually renew those initial registrations in order to avoid fines. There are fees for the initial and the annual registrations.

Alarm system users may download the revised alarm registration form from the police department's website. Links are available offering the full ordinance as well as registration forms.

Lt Kullgren said that a police response to an unregistered alarm results is a fine of $99.

Also, the police department has a schedule listing fines for false alarms that occur within a given one-year period. There is no charge for the first false alarm. A second false alarm results in a $25 fine. The fines then increase based on the number of false alarms that occur within a given year, with a $250 fine being levied for the tenth false alarm.

Anyone with questions on the revised alarm registration requirements may contact the police records unit at 203-270-4254,  via fax at 203-270-0637, or via e-mail to police.records@newtown-ct.gov.