Allcooper Security Solutions, supported by BT RedCARE, has offered Gloucestershire answers to questions raised by the revised ACPO policy on police attendance to alarm activations.
Allcooper Security Solutions, supported by BT RedCARE, has offered Gloucestershire answers to questions raised by the revised ACPO policy on police attendance to alarm activations. A seminar for local businesses, homeowners and security specifiers at The National Star Centre of Further Education, Cheltenham on April 9 aimed to inform delegates on the options available if false alarms reach an unacceptable level and police response is withdrawn. Allcooper Security were hosts, backed by BT RedCARE, the alarm signalling firm. Delegates were able to discuss their security with local crime prevention officer, Paul Francis, and hear about the effect the revised police policy could have on their insurance policies from insurer Allianz Cornhill.
False alarms
In 2001, the Gloucestershire Constabulary received and responded to 9,682 remotely monitored intruder alarm calls from the premises of 9,000 local businesses. Of these, only 397 (four per cent) were genuine. Nationally in 2001, there were 950,000 remotely monitored systems in the UK and the police responded to, on average, just under one false alarm per system. To reduce the volume of false alarms to which the police respond, The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) introduced ACPO Security Systems Policy 2000. This has meant that many businesses have had to review their existing security systems and, since October 1, all new security systems must be capable of sending a ?confirmed signal.? Roman Cooper, Divisional Director (Intruder Alarms), Allcooper Security Solutions, said: ?Many local people are unaware of the policy. We wanted to make sure customers are in possession of all the facts and know all the options available to them, before making any decision on the adequacy of their current alarm signalling service.? Confirmed alarm technology sends a second activation following the first initial activation to confirm an intruder is on the premises. BT RedCARE ran a series of roadshows across the UK last year, reported Simon Scott, general manager, BT RedCARE. BT RedCARE?s dual-signalling service, RedCARE GSM, provides a radio back-up link, in addition to the primary landline link, to the alarm receiving centre (ARC) and provides a confirmed activation if both signalling paths are lost, regardless of which is lost first. A recent BRE report, which specifically focused on European Standard EN50131-1, also considered RedCARE GSM as the only system that, in its standard form, would comply with the European Standard, say BT RedCARE.
