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[Fire and Police Alarms; False Alarms; Rewards]

SF-POLICE art. 9, pt. [Fire and Police Alarms; False Alarms; Rewards]
in effect

SF Police Code § 638 INTERFERENCE WITH FIRE, ETC., TELEGRAPH SYSTEMS PROHIBITED.

SEC. 638. INTERFERENCE WITH FIRE, ETC., TELEGRAPH SYSTEMS PROHIBITED. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to place, or cause to be placed, any article or thing on or upon any sidewalk in such a manner as to interfere with or obstruct the free access or approach to any signal box of the Fire and Police Telegraph System; or without authority from the Chief of the Department of Electricity to run any wire or any of the telegraph poles or fixtures of said systems, or to run, erect or maintain any wire across or parallel with any wire of said system within a distance of four feet thereof; or without authority from the Chief of the Department of Electricity, to break, remove or injure or cause to be broken, removed or injured, any of the parts or appurtenances of said system; or without authority, to make, or fit, or cause to be made or fitted, any key to lock of any signal box of said system; or, without authority, to have or retain in his possession any key belonging to or fitted to the lock of any such signal box; or to pick or force the lock of any such signal box. (Added by Ord. 1.075, App. 10/11/38)

SF Police Code § 639 MAKING FALSE ALARMS PROHIBITED.

SEC. 639. MAKING FALSE ALARMS PROHIBITED. It shall be unlawful for any person wilfully to make or cause to be made any false alarm of fire or any false call for police assistance, or for the police patrol wagon, or for any hospital ambulance of the Department of Public Health, by means of city or any telegraph or telephone systems, or any other way. (Added by Ord. 1.075, App. 10/11/38)

SF Police Code § 640 REWARD.

SEC. 640. REWARD. (a) Every person or persons who give information leading to the arrest and conviction, as defined in this Section, of any person who violates Section 148.4 of the California Penal Code, relating to the turning in of false fire alarms, in the City and County of San Francisco, shall receive as a reward from the City and County of San Francisco a total sum of $500 for each such occurrence. For the purposes of this Section and Section 641 of this Code, "conviction" shall mean a finding of guilty following a trial, a plea of guilt or nolo contendere, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere by plea bargaining whether or not the guilty plea or nolo contendere plea is entered for violation of Section 148.4 of the California Penal Code. (b) Every person or persons who give information leading to the arrest or, in the case of a juvenile, the temporary detention, but not the conviction of any person who violates Section 148.4 of the California Penal Code, relating to the turning in of false fire alarms, in the City and County of San Francisco, shall nevertheless receive as a reward from the City and County of San Francisco a total sum of $500 for each such occurrence, unless the arrested person or detained juvenile is found not guilty following a trial or juvenile court proceedings or the prosecutor dismisses the charges for insufficient information. Circumstances under which the person or persons providing the information shall be eligible for the reward include but are not limited to, disposition of the charges in the following ways: (1) The court issues a bench warrant against the arrested person for failure to appear in court; (2) The court determines that the arrested person is mentally incompetent to stand trial; (3) The court places the arrested person in a diversion program; (4) The charges are dismissed because the person is deported; (5) Juvenile court proceedings establish that the juvenile carried out the alleged actions; or (6) A probation officer places the detained juvenile in a specific program of supervision. (c) In the event that more than one person gives information under the circumstances specified in Section 640(a) or 640(b) regarding the same occurrence, the total sum of $500 shall be divided equally among the persons providing the information. (Amended by Ord. 208-86, App. 6/6/86)

SF Police Code § 641 PAYMENT.

SEC. 641. PAYMENT. The Controller is hereby authorized and directed to pay from any appropriation created for the purpose the total sum of $500 for each such occurrence to the person or persons who give such information leading to an arrest and conviction as set forth in Section 640, or the disposition of the charges by one of the other methods specified in Section 640, provided that a claim therefor is filed with the Controller within 60 days after the conviction or the disposition of the charges by one of the other methods enumerated in Section 640, and the said claim is approved by the Chief of the Fire Department. (Amended by Ord. 208-86, App. 6/6/86)

SF Police Code § 642 INELIGIBLE PERSONS.

SEC. 642. INELIGIBLE PERSONS. Neither a peace officer, a member of the Fire Department, nor any person barred by Charter provisions or statute from receiving rewards shall be eligible to claim the said reward. (Added by Ord. 277-69, App. 8/29/69)

SF Police Code § 643 PUBLICATION OF OFFER.

SEC. 643. PUBLICATION OF OFFER. Publication of this offer may be made through the posting of signs by the Fire Department from funds appropriated to the department for that purpose. (Added by Ord. 277-69, App. 8/29/69)
Source: City and County of San Francisco, Charter and Municipal Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_police/0-0-0-9900Fetched: 11/1/2026

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