Your Alarm System and Police Response

Many people believe that in the event of their intruder alarm activating, the police will respond immediately.

However, this is not always the case!

In 1995, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) revised their policy on police response to alarms, and this policy was fully implemented on 1st April 1996. There are certain criteria which must be met if you require a response from the police in the event of an intrusion being signalled.

Who installed your system?

Under the revised ACPO policy (which is in force in England, Wales and Northern Ireland), the police will only respond to alarm systems which have been registered with them and given a unique reference number (URN).
For an installation company to be able to issue URN's, they must be recognised by an ACPO-approved inspection body. There are currently five such inspection bodies - NSI, SSAIB, AISC, IAI, and Intergrity 2000.

If the company who installs your alarm is not recognised by one of these bodies, you will be unable to receive a police response should your alarm system be triggered. The system should be installed, maintained and used in accordance with either BS4737, BS7042, (high security systems) or BS6799 Class VI (wire-free systems).

This means that should you require the police to respond to your alarm, you must have a maintenance contract with your installation company.