A new national guideline that advises police to only attend alarms that have been properly monitored and maintained by an accredited security company should be a warning to anyone with a home or business alarm system, says National Protective Services CEO Rachaell Saunders.
The change is part of the new National Police Alarm Response guideline, which was implemented on 1 July 2018. It aims to improve consistency and efficiency for how police and security companies classify and respond to activated alarms, as part of a bid to help ensure police resources are used efficiently.
Police have now advised that they will not be responding to alarms that don’t have preventative maintenance plans so they do not waste their resources by attending false alarms.
The new guideline follows several years of work and partnership between police jurisdictions across Australia, the Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL) and the National Emergency Communications Working Group – Australia and New Zealand.
NPS warns clients not to get caught out
NPS CEO Rachaell Saunders welcomed the guideline, but said it issued a warning to anyone with an alarm system or thinking of getting one. “It’s clear that the security industry and the police want to ensure that their resources are used effectively and reach those who need it most,” Ms Saunders said. “There’s simply not the capacity for police to attend faulty alarm systems or those that are not monitored correctly.”
“If someone wants their alarm to be responded to in the expected capacity, then they need to ensure they get an accredited security company to install it, monitor it and implement an appropriate maintenance plan.”
Ms Saunders noted that when alarm systems are installed without a preventative maintenance program, customers only have a service call if they notice something wrong with their alarm. “However, by this stage, it is too late,” she says. “It’s like buying a car and only servicing it when it breaks down. With an alarm system you usually don’t know if something isn’t working because it can’t let you know.”
NPS preventative maintenance program – worth the peace of mind
NPS offers a preventive maintenance program to reassure clients that their alarm system is fully functioning and tested by NPS technicians in line with requirements. NPS schedules the service call in with the client when it is due and the technician fully tests all devices. NPS then provides a report detailing the status of the alarm system and tests carried out.
For most premises, the preventative maintenance costs as little as around $10 per week — a very inexpensive for peace of mind that also provides police response if needed.
The maintenance schedule is in place to make sure the intruder alarm system remains operational. Commercial and business alarms typically require maintenance every 12 months, or every 24 months for domestic alarms.
If you would like NPS to provide preventative maintenance to your alarm system to ensure police respond to your alarm when needed, simply email us at services@natprot.com.au
Visit ASIAL to read more about the agreement
Read a summary of the guideline
Read the full version of the guideline