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APPENDIX 3.18 Dealing with Nuisance from Vehicle Alarms
(Extracted and amended from LB Southwark Noise Team Work Instructions)
1.0 SCOPE
To detail the method for investigating certain types of statutory noise nuisance from vehicles, machinery and equipment ( VME) in a street, principally musical instruments and the sounding of car alarms.
Action is taken under Environmental Protection Act 1990, as amended by the Noise and Statutory Nuisances Act 1993 ( NSNA93)
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 require that a 5 minute cut-out device is fitted to all vehicle alarms. The Police and Vehicle Inspectorate enforce the legislation and may prosecute if the alarm does not comply.
2.0 DEFINITIONS
Equipment | includes musical instrument. |
Noise | includes vibration. |
Person Responsible | in relation to a statutory nuisance, means the person to whose act, default or sufferance the nuisance is attributable; in relation to a vehicle, includes the person in whose name the vehicle is for the time being registered under the Vehicle (Excise) Act 1971 and any other person who is for the time being the driver of the vehicle; in relation to machinery or equipment, includes any person who is for the time being the operator of the machinery or equipment. |
Street | a highway and any other road, footpath, square or court that is for the time being open to the public. |
Works in Default (W.I.D.) | works carried out by the council to abate a noise nuisance. |
3.0 PROCEDURE FOR DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS ABOUT VEHICLE ALARMS
Where a complaint is received of a misfiring vehicle alarm, the receiving officer will request the following information from the person reporting the disturbance:
- vehicle make, model and colour
- registration number
- length of time the alarm has been sounding (longer than 5 minutes)
- whether the car has been vandalised or forcibly entered and if so, have the police been notified and allowed to deal with the attempted theft.
If the alarm has been sounding for over 5 minutes and the car has not been vandalised or broken into, the investigating officer shall arrange to visit the complainant to establish if there is a statutory nuisance. This may not always be welcomed or necessary, especially if the occurrence is late at night and the alarm has been effective for over 30 minutes. If the noise is witnessed by a professional officer and the officer is of the opinion that a statutory nuisance is "likely to occur", a home visit is not required.
Where a noise nuisance is established and the "person responsible" for the vehicle is found, a standard s.80 notice shall be served on the person responsible, by hand. The notice must specify the date and time that the notice was served.
Where a nuisance is established and the "person responsible" is not found, a s.80 notice (pertaining to an unattended VME), shall be served on the "person responsible" by affixing it to the unattended vehicle. Usually this will be attached to the front windscreen. The same conditions as above shall be applied.
The notice shall be time and date stamped. Note that there is a provision in the notice to allow "additional time". This section is used where the owner returns to the vehicle within the hour of service and requires extra time to obtain the keys to the vehicle or contact someone else to silence the alarm.
The amount of extra time allowed is at the discretion of the officers attending the scene.
The officer must attempt to locate the owner/person responsible for the vehicle within the hour following service of the notice, by making all reasonable enquiries including house-to-house visits of nearby properties to ask if the occupiers have seen the vehicle before, know of the owner's whereabouts or possible contact point.
If the registered keeper is not available and the nuisance persists, the officer may, following their investigations and depending on the time of day and the severity of the nuisance, consider that Works In Default ( WID) to silence the alarm is necessary.
If WID is deemed necessary, a warrant is not required to enter the vehicle nor are the police required to be in attendance when undertaking the WID.
The car alarm specialist should be contacted only after 1 hour following the service of the notice and the investigations.
The officer must note on paper the general internal and external condition of the vehicle and take photographs, if able, of any damage to bodywork, tyres, aerials or locks; scratches to paintwork; obvious items left inside the car and visible to the public, etc. Do not allow the specialist or yourself to touch any items in the vehicle unnecessarily.
The alarm specialist (locksmith) should be able to enter the vehicle and disconnect the alarm with as little damage as possible to the vehicle itself. In some instances the alarm may be easily re-set; however, this is usually not the case. On completion of the WID, the vehicle must be re-secured.
The officer shall leave an envelope inside the vehicle containing the original notice and a letter of explanation of what works have been carried out and for what purpose; the officer contact name and number and a statement that the cost of the WID will be reclaimed from the registered keeper of the vehicle. Copies of the Notice and letter shall be retained for the office file.
If, by entering the vehicle, it is damaged or the locks are changed, a detailed file note must be made of the above.
If the car is parked in an insecure place, or cannot be re-secured or the officer has reason to believe that the vehicle may be tampered with after leaving the site, then the car must be towed away to a car pound for collection by the owner.
If the vehicle is removed from site, the police must be informed of the pound address and the Council's contact person and telephone number. The Police will amend the DVLA records accordingly so that if the owner returns to find the vehicle removed, he or she can ascertain the vehicle's whereabouts from the DVLA records when contacting the police to report the "theft".
The unit support officers will ensure that the specialist's (locksmith) account is paid and raise an invoice for the registered keeper.
If Works in Default are not initiated to silence the alarm, the s.80 notice stands. The case officer/lead officer, on receipt of the DVLA details, will write to the registered keeper. There is a warning letter which may be appropriate to send by Officers in certain circumstances.
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