The BRITISH Security industry assOciation (bsia) is looking into ways of reducing the 95% false alarm rate which has resulted in tough ACPO intruder alarms policies being introduced since 1995 – with stringent penalties for repeat false calls by end users.
Using its links with Euralarm (the Association of European Manufacturers and Installers of Fire and Security Systems), the Association is being backed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to research methods employed by European alarm receiving centres (ARCs).
Although the number of false calls passed on to police has been reduced by 40% through filtering techniques introduced by ARCs, the number of false alarms generated by end users has remained virtually unaffected.
The results of the study, which are expected to be published at the end of April, will be used to identify ‘best practice’ procedures for adoption by the UK security industry.
The BSIA states that preliminary analyses of methods used in other European countries shows that, while similar methods are used in the UK, there are a number of added procedures which UK ARCs do not yet have in place.
n The BSIA has also produced a handbook for end users outlining the ACPO 2000 Security Systems Policy. This ‘plain English’ guide breaks down the policy into eleven easy-to-use sections, tackling all key concerns relevant to the systems user.
‘A Users’ Guide to the ACPO Policy 2000′ aims to give new and existing customers a clear understanding of their responsibilities under the new policy, and a good grasp of the penalties in place for repeat false calls. Copies are available from BSIA systems companies, or direct from the BSIA.
