So you want to know what the police response will respond to an alarm activation at your premises. OK let’s see what that involves.
First of all it should be noted that the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) amended their policy regarding police response to burglar alarms in January 2010.
When considering the response they give to alarm activations, the police classify security systems into two groups – Type A and Type B. The table below shows the main differences (including approximate costs of installation/maintenance) between the two Type Standards:
Type A |
Type B |
|
Alarm System |
Must conform to the relevant British Standard(BS)/European Norm(EN) | Doesn’t have to conform to Standard(BS)/European Norm(EN) but we would recommend it i.e. the Response & Friedland Range doconform to BS/EN standards. See the range here. |
Installation |
Must be installed by an alarm installer approved by the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) or Security Systems and Alarm Inspection Board (SSAIB). | A person with basic DIY skills can install most of the alarms we show on this site in a matter of a few hours |
Compulsory Monitoring |
Yes. The alarm must be connected to an approved Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). On activation of the alarm the ARC will notify the police | No. But we would recommend you install a monitored alarm that, when activated, dials a list of pre-set telephone numbers. When it gets an answer it delivers a pre-recorded message. (Compare landline activated alarms here and GSM activated alarms here ) |
Key-holders Required |
Yes. Must have at least two key-holders registered with the ARC or a central key-holding service. A failure of key-holders to attend can result in the withdrawal of police response. | No. But strongly recommend that a monitored alarm is able to dial at least one key-holder who can respond to the activation – a neighbour or friend is ideal but please don’t use the number of the local police station! |
Police Response Guaranteed |
No. But police will grade information from an ARC that an activation has taken place as an immediate/urgent incident. A decision to dispatch a unit will be based on the nature of the demand, priorities and police resources that exist at the time. Police response withdrawn altogether after ‘x’ number of false alarms. (See comments below regarding offences under the Consumer Protection Act 2008) | No. But police will attend if it is suspected a criminal offence is in progress. Notification can be through the 999 system. |
| OK then – lets have a look at the different costs involved in installing a “monitored” alarm in a 3 bedroomed semi or similar sized detached property | ||
Type A |
Type B |
|
Equipment |
£450 | £200 |
Installation |
Nil | |
Maintenance/Service Contract |
About £20 per month. Contracts are usually for two or possibly three years | Nil |
Unique Reference Number (URN) |
£41.38 plus VAT – a one off payment to police. The URN is allocated by the police to the security company | Nil |
Total |
£500 + £240 per year |
£200 |
All prices are approximate (apart from the Police URN figure)
OK lets go into this a little deeper.
Type A – There are actually, two levels of police response where an alarm has been installed to Type A specifications. The ACPO Policy document does make this clear and the first type of response is called:
“Level 1 – Immediate/Urgent – It should be noted that police response is ultimately determined by the nature of demand, priorities and resources which exist at the time a request for police response is received” (ACPO Policy Document)
So what does that actually mean in practice?
When I was a police officer there was nothing I liked better than nicking burglar Bill in the act. I think it’s fair to say that the vast majority of my colleagues had the same motivation, and when the control room sent us to an alarm we would race to the scene as quickly as we could. However, the vehicle(s) that are required to respond to an alarm activation are also responding to assaults, domestics, thefts, road traffic collisions, sudden deaths, missing persons – the list goes on an and on and on.
As can be seen from the above table, a Type A alarm activation will be passed to the police via an approved Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). When control room staff receive notification from the ARC they will, in accordance with ACPO policy, allocate units to attend – but this police response to an alarm activation will be based on a plethora of other ongoing incidents that have been prioritised. The bottom line here is that the police will class a Type A alarm activation as requiring an immediate/urgent response and my experience is that they will do everything they can to respond appropriately, but don’t let anybody tell you that police response to an alarm is “guaranteed” – it’s not. Furthermore, I am reliably informed that if an alarm company states that they guarantee police response they are now committing an offence under the Consumer Protection Act 2008. It is quite a simple matter that if it is put in such a way that the customer genuinely believes that the police will come if their alarm goes off, then the offence is complete.
Generally speaking, the police target response times to immediate or urgent incidents is 10 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural areas. This may differ between police forces and you should contact your local police station to find out what their targets are for attending various types of incidents.
Finally, I think it’s fair to say that our “thin blue line” is being constantly stretched and I cannot imagine the proposed Government cutbacks helping.
OK, that was the first level of police response to a Type A alarm. What’s next?
“Level 3 – Withdrawn – No Police response, key-holder response only” (ACPO Policy Document)
And what does this mean in practice?
First of all you will note that there is no Level 2. This is not a typo – the “old” level 2 is no longer relevant and has been withdrawn, but the numbering system in the ACPO policy has remained the same!
Again, when I was a police officer their was nothing worse than heading off to an alarm with the promise of a good “collar”, only to arrive at the scene to find that somebody had set the alarm off by accident. Unfortunately, the police are involved in traffic collisions with members of the public, especially when travelling above the speed limit with blue lights flashing, some of which have serious and even fatal consequences. Being involved in a police vehicle accident is bad enough, but knowing later that there was no need for excess speed because the incident involved a false alarm is heart breaking. It therefore stands to reason that the police want to reduce the pain and trauma caused by unnecessary collisions and have, quite rightly in my opinion, cracked down heavily on false alarms. Consequently, if you have three or more (four in Scotland) false alarms in a twelve month period, police response will be withdrawn.
OK – that was Type A what about Type B
Type B – Generally speaking the types of self install alarms compared on this web site will fall under this category and would not be to linked an ARC. Consequently, the police would not be informed of an alarm activation by a monitoring centre. However, all is not lost.
When notification of an activation of a Type A alarm is received at an ARC, they have to go through a procedure to ensure that it is not a false alarm before contacting the police. A monitored alarm is able to call a neighbour, a friend or even you or a member of your family. And if any of these key-holders can get to the scene of the alarm fairly quickly then they too can appraise the situation and decide if police response is required. This type of system is ideal for Neighbourhood Watch groups, residents associations and the like.
And when would police response be required? ACPO policy states that this is when “…..a criminal offence is in progress …..” It is suggested that scenarios where this would be relevant are perhaps: an alarm activation with a strange car on the drive or car racing away; an alarm activation and the sound of breaking glass; an alarm activation and persons on the premises. Whatever the circumstances a decision can then be made request police response – using the 999 system if necessary.
We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information on this Website is correct. However, we do not guarantee the correctness or completeness of material. If you would like to comment on this subject please use our blog. Our disclosure policy can be found here. Full details of the ACPO Policy on police response can be found here
Neill MacKenzie
www.wirelessalarmsreview.co.uk
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