The remote monitoring of CCTV and/or Intruder Alarm systems is fast becoming a necessity for those companies that need to provide protection for their property but do not have a manned security guard presence.

With at least two policies in Europe, the first being ACPO and the second being the Working Time Directive most companies are aware that in due course, it may be necessary to consider remote monitoring.

With each Police force having slight variations on a common theme, the core reason for the ACPO policy is to reduce the quantity of false alarms and the subsequent time and cost associated with each un-necessary call out. By qualifying an attempted intrusion by a second alarm signal, the Police can be called with specific details and almost guaranteed that the intrusion is for real. If your building is protected by CCTV cameras and has communications to a remote centre, the operators will confirm the intrusion and call the Police accordingly. This system can be improved by adding a voice link back to the site. The central monitoring station operator can talk back to the suspect via loudspeakers around the site, which often results in the intruder leaving the premises rather than continuing their unwanted activities.

With the new ACPO policy, any new alarm system installed after October 2001 must be connected to a central monitoring station for first line confirmation before the Police will respond. More than two false alarms and the Police can blacklist the client for 12 months.

There is almost certainly a long-term cost saving by utilising Central Monitoring instead of the traditional manned guarding. The forthcoming Working Time Directive will also limit the number of hours your guards can work and this will affect the number of guards you need to employ and therefore your overheads.