The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) has recorded a 24 per cent drop in the number of intruder alarm activations, following the introduction of their first security systems policy.
The policy was introduced in June 2002 to reduce the number of false alarms by, amongst other measures, establishing a threshold for the maximum acceptable number of false activations before police response is removed. From June 2002 to June 2003 there were 60,000 fewer alarm activations compared to the same period in the previous year. The financial saving to the Scottish Police Service is estimated to be in the region of £1m. This money will now be used to enhance policing in local communities.
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What they say
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Assistant Chief Constable John McLean, Chairman of the Community Safety Sub-Committee of ACPOS, is delighted with the results, he said: ‘Since the introduction of the policy there has been a significant reduction in the number of calls requiring police response. Officers freed from the need to attend alarm activations are now in a position to serve communities in a more positive way by responding quickly to more genuine calls.’ David Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), said: ‘ACPOS worked very closely with the BSIA to produce this policy and we are delighted that it is having the desired effect. Intruder alarms make a very valuable contribution to crime prevention, yet false activations do occur for a variety of reasons. This Policy has encouraged a best practice approach to installing, operating and maintaining intruder alarms so that false activations are minimised.’ Visit <a href="www.acpo.police.uk" target="_blank">www.acpo.police.uk</a>
