Intruder Alarm Monitoring – The Complete Guide
Intruders, vandalism and theft can have major implications for a business. Property damage, theft of stock and expensive machinery, as well as compromised safety of employees can have long-term effects on a business. For that reason, it’s no surprise that many business sites are wanting to increase their level of security and are turning to intruder alarm monitoring to achieve this.
We’ve put together a complete guide to intruder alarm monitoring, to provide you with all the information you need to know and to help you decide if a monitored intruder alarm system is for you and your sites.
What is Intruder Alarm Monitoring?
Intruder alarm monitoring allows for no intruder alarm activation to go unnoticed. It consists of a third-party professional monitoring company connecting to a site’s security system and monitoring it 24/7 for any alarm activations. If an alarm is triggered, the monitoring company will be notified and will carry out the appropriate response to the situation, such as confirming whether or not it is a false alarm and/or contacting the emergency services or the police.
How does Intruder Alarm Monitoring work?
Intruder alarm monitoring works by connecting to an alarm receiving centre (ARC). At RMS, we have our own ARC, meaning we keep everything completely in-house. An ARC is connected to a site’s intruder alarm system via a landline or cellular network, such as 4G. Through this connection, signals from the intruder alarm system are sent to the ARC and central monitoring centre, notifying the team when an alarm has been activated.
When an intruder alarm is triggered, it fires a signal to the ARC. Once the signal and notification are received, the highly-trained monitoring operatives will quickly and effectively analyse the situation. When the alarm is triggered during the site’s working hours the monitoring operatives will confirm whether the alarm is false or not. This is to prevent a police response for a false alarm, which is not only a waste of time for the site but also wastes the valuable time of the emergency services. When an alarm is activated out of working hours, the monitoring operatives will assume the alarm to be true and will move on to choosing the most appropriate response to safeguard the site.
There are numerous response options, all of which can be discussed with and bespoke to the specific site. However, the main options include an audio challenge to the intruder (if the security system allows for this capability), a visit from the monitoring company’s own rapid response team, or a police response, as well as contacting the site’s keyholder.
How does a monitored system compare to a regular system?
A monitored intruder alarm system is different to a regular intruder alarm system in that there is a 24/7 dedicated team who is monitoring the site for any intruder or security breaches. With a monitored system, no alarm goes unnoticed and will always be investigated, no matter the time of day. With a regular system, an alarm could go unnoticed if triggered, especially if it’s during the night. It’s also likely to take a significant period of time for someone to notice the alarm and report it, particularly if the site is located away from residential areas, such as business parks and warehouses, giving the intruder ample time to carry out their crime and escape.
Intruder alarm monitoring, therefore, provides a fast, guaranteed response to any potential intruder situation, as well as reduces annoying and costly false alarms.
With a monitored system, responsibility is taken away from individual employees or site management and places it on highly trained individuals, who can operate efficiently and calmly during stressful situations.
Why would an intruder alarm system need to be monitored?
Any site can benefit from a monitored intruder alarm, due to the increased level of security it provides. Evidence from the FSB shows that 50% of small firms have been a victim of crime within the last two years.
The impacts of an intruder and the criminal activity they carry out can have detrimental impacts on a business which may take a significant amount of time to overcome. The main impact of an intrusion is the financial costs. Not only is it the damage costs of the intrusion that the site will need to cover, but also the costs of any stolen items and the costs of business downtime.
There are also non-financial costs that come into play of an intrusion, such as the emotion and potentially physical impacts on individuals, as well as the feeling of safety whilst on site.
A monitored intruder alarm, therefore, provides peace of mind to all those involved, giving confidence that if an incident were to occur, a dedicated and professional monitoring company will be on-hand to deal with the issue.
Is intruder alarm monitoring a legal requirement?
It is not a legal requirement to have intruder alarm monitoring in place, however, some insurance companies may require a site’s security system to be monitored within their terms and conditions. In this case, it is then a contractual obligation to ensure the site has a monitored intruder alarm in place. This not only improves the site’s overall safety and security, but it could also reduce the site’s insurance premiums due to being considered at lower risk!
If a site belongs to a high-risk business or one that has no staff present during closing hours, it’s strongly advised to have a monitored intruder alarm system, to provide peace of mind and confidence that all alarms will be responded to instantly.
What are the benefits?
There are numerous benefits of intruder alarm monitoring that go above and beyond improved safety and security. Many have a roll-on effect to positively impact the end-user business.
- Improved level of site security
- Better protection against break-ins
- All alarms are responded to immediately
- Reduced false alarms
- Reduced business/site downtime
- In-depth reporting on all incidents
- Cost-effective
- Deter criminal activity
- Reduced insurance premiums
- Improved productivity
- Peace of mind
Is it worth the investment?
When considering whether intruder alarm monitoring is a worthwhile investment, it’s good to consider what the costs and implications would be if it weren’t in place. The financial and emotional costs of a break-in to a site can be devasting and extremely impactful to the business. Many don’t realise the importance and effectiveness of intruder alarm monitoring until it is too late. Statistics show that the annual cost of traditional crime against small businesses is £12.9 billion, with it costing each business, on average, more than £14,000 over two years.
Intruder alarm monitoring, therefore, is considered a highly effective and even necessary investment to ensure a secure site that can respond quickly to incidents, limiting the amount of site damage, costs and deterring criminals.
Can all types of intruder alarms be monitored?
Yes, the majority of intruder alarms will be able to be monitored by a professional ARC. The best way to know if a certain intruder alarm can be monitored is to get in touch with your chosen monitoring company and discuss your needs and system.
How much does intruder alarm monitoring cost?
Intruder alarm monitoring is a relatively low monthly cost compared to the overall cost and impact of a site intrusion. There are several factors that influence the cost of a site’s alarm monitoring, such as the size of the site, the size of the intruder alarm system and the number of individual components within it. The best way to find out an accurate cost for intruder alarm monitoring is to get a free quote from a monitoring company.
Although costs vary and are site-specific, average monitoring costs for a small security system start at approximately £25 per month.
Are they expensive to maintain?
A monitored intruder alarm system should be no more expensive to maintain than an unmonitored system. It’s advised to have annual maintenance visits, to ensure your intruder alarm system is in proper working order with no faults.
Intruder Alarm Monitoring with RMS
RMS are an NSI Gold approved company with our own state of the art ARC. You can therefore trust that we work to the most stringent standards in the industry and our monitoring operatives are trained to an exceptional standard, including customer service.
With RMS, you can guarantee that all your sites will be professionally monitored around the clock, by a dedicated team that you can rely on.
Next Steps
If you’re interested in finding out more or are looking for a quote for your sites, get in touch. Call us on 0330 002 1149 or via our online form for a free, no-obligation quotation and to talk through all your criteria. The RMS team will be happy to help.