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A draft British Standard for the installation and remote monitoring of detector activated CCTV (formerly PAS 38) was published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) on January 28.
BS 8418 will cover detector activated CCTV, which is an alternative to continual live monitoring of images. Detector activated systems alert a remote video response centre when an incident occurs (a detector is activated), at which point images of the site can be viewed and appropriate action taken.
Some police forces will respond to such an incident, but not all. This is largely because no nationally recognized standards cover the area and so the perception is that false alarm rates could be high. This situation also raises a dilemma for insurers, who need guidance when specifying a system. BS 8418 has been introduced to solve these problems, says the BSIA. The association created a code of practice for detector activated CCTV in 2000 and submitted it to the BSI to become a Publicly Available Specification (PAS 38). This is a new ‘fast-track’ standard development programme, which has led to the standard being available for comment, amended and re-issued in a relatively short time. Draft BS 8418 is now available for further comment from all interested parties before it becomes a full British Standard in summer 2002. The deadline for comments is April 30. For a copy of Draft BS 8418 ring the BSI on 020 8996 9000.
