Intruder alarm
CONNECTION FORM

These Terms & Conditions and monitoring policy shall be deemed to have been accepted by sending this form.
1. Recital Remotewatch Monitoring is providing Security Surveillance and alarm monitoring services throughout the UK & Europe and has agreed to provide to the Subscriber the services of a Centralised Managed Surveillance Station on the terms and subject to the conditions set out hereinafter. In this Agreement, the following expressions (unless the context otherwise admits) shall have the meanings set out against them. 2. Definitions 2.1 ACTIVE MONITORING ASSISTANCE shall mean a service provided by Remotewatch controllers actively viewing a Site at prearranged intervals (rather than responding to automatic alarms) and, in the period prior to the Surveillance Commencement Date, assistance in preparing the Subscribers Equipment for the commencement of Security Surveillance itself. 2.2 AGREED SITE PROCEDURES shall mean the detailed procedures to be agreed prior to the Surveillance Commencement Date between the Subscriber and Remotewatch, as amended from time to time by agreement of Remotewatch and the Subscriber. 2.3 ALARM RECEIVING CENTRE shall mean the receiving control centre using the dedicated receiving equipment and software operated by or on behalf of Remotewatch for the purpose of receiving and managing activated alarms transmitted from the Site. 2.4 CCTV shall mean a close circuit television system comprising monitors, recorders and associated installation equipment and material. 2.5 COMMENCEMENT DATE shall mean the date of this Agreement and MONITORING COMMENCEMENT DATE shall mean the date on which notice is served by Remotewatch on the subscriber confirming that Remotewatch is satisfied with the alarms transmitted by the Subscriber’s Equipment to the Alarm Receiving Centre. 2.6 EMMERGENCY SERVICES shall mean the police and where appropriate the fire and ambulance services. 2.7 INSTALLER shall mean the installation company (whether or not approved by Remotewatch) appointed by the Subscriber to install and maintain the Subscriber’s Equipment. 2.8 KEY HOLDER shall mean the Subscriber’s nominated representative(s). 2.9 MINIMUM PERIOD shall mean the period which is the greater of twelve months and any period identified as such overleaf on the front page of this Agreement, such period to commence on the Surveillance Commencement Date. 2.10 SECURITY SURVIELLANCE shall mean a service provided by Remotewatch through means of Alarm Receiving Centres for the internal and/or external surveillance of premises for security purposes through the use of transmission equipment for remote monitoring. 2.11 SITES shall mean each of the premises of the Subscribers specified in this Agreement. 2.12 SUBSCRIBER’S EQUIPMENT shall mean all equipment installed at the Site used for the purpose of alarm and video image transmission to the Alarm Receiving Centre. 2.13 TERMS shall mean the period from the Commencement Date until this Agreement is determined in accordance with the provisions set out below. 3. Commencement 3.1 This Agreement shall commence on the Commencement Date. Subject to prior termination as provided in this Agreement, Security Monitoring shall begin on the Monitoring Commencement Date and shall continue for the Minimum Period and thereafter until terminated in accordance with the following: a) Agreement for monthly monitoring Notice of 1 (one) months given in writing given by either party to the other or prior to the renewal of the commencement date. b) Agreement for quarterly monitoring Notice of 3 (three) months given in writing given by either party to the other or prior to the renewal of the commencement date. c) Agreement for annual monitoring Notice of 3 (three) months given in writing given by either party to the other or prior to the renewal of the commencement date. Should notice fail to be given in accordance with clause 3. (3.1) c. above, the agreement will renew and will continue for a further 12 months. At the end of the period the notice served in accordance with the requirements of clause 3. (3.1) c will continue to apply. 3.2 Having executed this Agreement with Remotewatch the Subscriber shall use its reasonable endeavours to progress the installation of necessary Subscriber’s Equipment and shall not enter into any arrangement with any other provider of remote visual monitoring services for the provision of remote visual monitoring services for the Site prior to the expiry of the Minimum Period or the earlier terminations of this Agreement in accordance with clause 8. 3.3 Where required Remotewatch can assist the Subscriber with obtaining installation and maintenance quotations through a list of installers. Remotewatch will at its discretion inspect the completed installation in order to compare it against established codes of practice and where necessary liaise with the installed on the connection of the Sites to the Alarm Receiving Centre but will have no responsibility to the Subscriber for any act or omission of the installer. 3.4 Remotewatch may agree to provide Active Monitoring Assistance to the Subscriber (either prior to the Surveillance Commencement Date or subsequent to such date but at a time when the Site’s alarm system is not functioning properly so as to transmit video images to Remotewatch automatically) at Remotewatch’s normal rate or, if more work than agreed in the contract letter, at a rate to be agreed. If Remotewatch does so agree, the Subscriber acknowledges that the Active Monitoring Assistance is provided without accepting the responsibility on Remotewatch’s part referred to in clause 6.1. 4. Surveillance 4.1 Remotewatch shall, with reasonable care, provide to the Subscriber, with effect only from the Monitoring Commencement Date and for the duration of this Agreement, Monitoring Surveillance through one of a network of Alarm Receiving Centres. 4.2 The Security Surveillance shall cover the periods of time and actions as are set out in the Agreed Site Procedures and will comply with the operating procedures laid down by Remotewatch. 4.3 Remotewatch will maintain records of all Confirmed Events for a minimum period of 6 (six) months after the event to which they refer. 4.4 Remotewatch will make available a copy of any records kept pursuant to clause 4.3 that may be required for prosecution subject to the current requirements of the Data Protection Act. 4.5 Remotewatch shall use its best endeavours to notify the Subscriber and the installer of any problems experienced at the Alarm Receiving Centre in receiving clear quality video images that are transmitted from the sites. 4.6 Should any site experience a high alarm activation rate (as determined by the Alarm Receiving Centre) Remotewatch will request an investigation and report on the cause of such activation. Where a high activation is found to be caused by faulty or misused equipment, poor installation, Subscriber neglect or carelessness or alterations to the Site, Remotewatch will require rectifications of the position to re-establish normal operation of the Security Surveillance. Where normal operation of the Security Surveillance cannot be re-established to the satisfaction of Remotewatch with 48 hours of notification to the Subscriber, Remotewatch reserves the right to withdraw Security Surveillance at the Site without further notice until all faults have been rectified to the satisfaction of Remotewatch. Where high activations rates continue without rectification, Remotewatch will not be able to carry out its duties in respect of this agreement until such a time as said high activations are resolved to Remotewatch's satisfaction. The Subscriber shall continue to pay the agreed Monitoring Charge during the temporary withdrawal of Security Surveillance by Remotewatch under the provisions of the clause. 4.7 Remotewatch will invoice the agreed charges to the Subscriber annually, quarterly or monthly in advance. Any Supplementary Charges will be invoices monthly with full details relating to the Supplementary Charges provided. 4.8 Remotewatch will at all times comply with the GDPR at all times when obtaining and processing the Subscriber’s data in accordance with said policy. 5. Charges 5.1 The Subscriber shall be responsible for the payment of all amounts charged by the installer for the installation and maintenance of the Subscriber’s Equipment. 5.2 The Subscriber shall ensure that the required public telecommunications terminal equipment is located adjacent to its surveillance transmission equipment, the location of which will be determined by the installer in consultation with the Subscriber. 5.3 The Subscriber shall notify Remotewatch (in writing) forthwith of any alterations or additions to the Subscriber’s security system surveillance equipment, Site or working practices. 5.4 The Subscriber shall ensure that the Subscriber’s equipment and any interlocked security system is maintained in operational order in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and prevailing British Standards and be able to provide evidence of this to Remotewatch as an when required. 5.5 The Subscriber shall not nor shall it permit any person other than the installer to repair, replace or in any way interfere with the Subscriber’s Equipment or any associated equipment interlocks and communications links. 5.6 The Subscriber shall pay to Remotewatch the charges set out in the Agreement as varied from time to time. Special services may be offered to the Subscriber at prices to be agreed at that time. The Subscriber shall pay the charges to Remotewatch within 30 (thirty) days of the date of issue of the annual, quarterly or monthly invoice referred to in clause 4.7. 5.7 Where a Subscriber's account is outside of the agreed payment terms (30 days, in advance) Remotewatch reserves the right to withdraw (suspend) the monitoring of a Subscriber's sites until the account is brought up to date and paid in full. This refers to the Subscriber's account, not individual sites (regardless of if such sites have paid the Subscriber). Remotewatch shall not be liable of any loss or damage whilst an account is suspended and monitoring has been withdrawn 5.8 Remotewatch reserves the right at its sole discretion to review and revise the charges and methods of calculating the charges set out in the Agreement, such revised charges to come into force with effect from any time after the first anniversary of the Surveillance Commencement Date. Remotewatch will give four weeks prior written notice to the Subscriber of any such revision and the Subscriber may, on receipt of such notification of increased charges and subject to the Minimum Period and terms of clause 3 above, terminate this Agreement providing the required written notice as determined in clause 3 of this agreement. 6. Liabilities for Loss 6.1 Remotewatch shall be responsible for any loss or damage to the Site during the agreed monitoring period(s) or the contents therein suffered or incurred by the Subscriber if such loss or damage is caused as a result of any breach or default on the part of Remotewatch in the discharge of its obligations under this Agreement provided that such liability shall be limited (except in the case of liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence) to the amount necessary to make good such loss or damage and shall not in any event (except in respect of death or personal injury by negligence) exceed the sum of £1,000,000 (for Videofied/RSI systems or systems of a similar nature, transmitting video clips without the ability of Remotewatch operatives to connect to the cameras, this liability shall not exceed £100,000) in respect of any one claim or series of claims arising out of any once incident or series of connected incidents. 6.2 Neither Remotewatch nor its employees or agents shall be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the Subscriber arising from any malfunction in the Subscriber’s Equipment nor in the Subscriber’s telephone system or any other method of communication used to transmit signals from the Site to the Alarm Receiving Centre or other error, malfunction or equipment defect outside of the reasonable control of Remotewatch. 6.3 Remotewatch shall not be liable to the Subscriber for any consequential loss of damage (whether for loss of profit or otherwise), costs, expenses or other claims for consequential compensation whatsoever (and whether caused by the negligence of Remotewatch, its employees or agents of otherwise) which may arise out of or in connection with this Agreement. 6.4 Remotewatch shall not be liable to the Subscriber or be deemed to be in breach of the Agreement by reason of any delay in performing, or any failure to perform, any of Remotewatch’s obligations hereunder if the delay or failure was due to any cause beyond Remotewatch’s reasonable control. This includes high activation rates as detailed in clause 4.6 of these Terms and Conditions. 6.5 Remotewatch shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the Subscriber whatever unless and until the Subscriber’s Equipment has been connected to the Alarm Receiving Centre and is operated to the satisfaction of Remotewatch. 6.6 In entering into this Agreement the Subscriber acknowledges that Security Surveillance is not a replacement or substitute for a primary intruder security system and therefore should be used or applied only as an additional security over and above such system. 6.7 Remotewatch shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the Subscriber whatever, nor will insurance cover be provided, where the Subscriber's account is not paid fully up to date or, where there is no prior notification and acceptance of a query of a charge. For Subscribers with multiple sites and a query has arisen with the payment of one or more (but not the whole) sites, payment must be made for all sites for which there has been no legitimate query advised to and accepted by Remotewatch. 7. Value Added Tax 7.1 All sums payable under this Agreement unless otherwise stated are exclusive of VAT and other duties and taxes 7.2. Any VAT or other duties or taxes payable in respect of such sums shall be payable in addition to such sums. 8. Termination 8.1 Either party hereto shall have the right forthwith to terminate this Agreement by providing written notice detailed in clause 3 of this agreement to the other if: 8.1.1 a Receiver has been appointed over the whole or any part of the other party’s assets; or 8.1.2 an order is made or a resolution is passed for the winding up of the other (except if such winding up is for the purpose of amalgamation or a solvent reconstruction and in such manner that company resulting from such amalgamation or reconstruction shall (if a different legal entity) agree to be bound by and assume the terms and conditions hereof; or 8.1.3 that other party shall commit any breach of this Agreement and shall fail to remedy such breach within 15 (fifteen) days after written notice thereof from the other party specifying the nature of the breach. 8.2 Remotewatch shall have the right to terminate this Agreement forthwith if any money payable by the Subscriber under this Agreement is in arrears for 30 days whether demanded or not. 8.3 The rights of termination herein contained shall be without prejudice to any right or remedy at of either party in respect of the breach concerned (if any) or any other breach. 9. Payment on Termination 9.1 In the event of this Agreement being determined whether by effluxion of time, notice or otherwise, Remotewatch shall cease immediately to provide Security Surveillance to the Subscriber and the Subscriber shall immediately pay to Remotewatch: 9.1.1 all arrears of charges due under this Agreement: and if the Agreement is terminated before or after the anniversary of the Surveillance Commencement Date, the annual monitoring charge for the period from the date of termination to the anniversary. 10. Capacity Each of the parties warrants its power to enter into this Agreement and has obtained all necessary approvals to do so. 11. Illegally If any provision of this Agreement is declared by any judicial or other competent authority to be void, voidable, illegal or otherwise unenforceable or indications to that effect are received by either of the parties from any competent authority the parties shall amend that provision in such reasonable manner as achieves the intention of the parties without illegality or at the discretion of Remotewatch it may be severed from this Agreement and the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless Remotewatch in its discretion decides that the effect of such declaration is to defeat the original intention of the parties in which event Remotewatch shall be entitled to terminate this Agreement by 30 days’ notice to the Subscriber and the provision of clause 9 shall apply accordingly. 12. Nature of Agreement 12.1 Each party acknowledges that this Agreement contains the whole Agreement between the two parties and that it has not relied upon any oral or written representation made to it by the other or its employees or agents and has made its own independent investigation into all matters relevant to it. 12.2 This Agreement supersedes any prior Agreement between the parties whether written or oral and any such prior Agreement are cancelled as at the Commencement Date without prejudice to any rights which have already accrued to either of the parties. 12.3 All terms and conditions implied by statute or otherwise are hereby excluded. 13 Notices 13.1 Each of the parties shall give notice to the other of any changes of any address or telephone fax or similar number at the earliest opportunity but in any event within 48 hours of such change. 13.2 Any notice to be served on either of the parties by the other shall be sent by prepaid recorded delivery or registered post to the address of the relevant party shown on the first page of this Agreement or to such other address as may from time to time be notified in writing by the parties concerned or by facsimile transmission or by electronic mail and shall be deemed to have been received by the addressee at the expiry of 72 hours from the time of posting or 24 hours if sent by facsimile or by electronic mail to the correct facsimile number or electronic mail number of the addresses (with correct answer back). 14 Miscellaneous 14.1 Heading contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not be incorporated into this Agreement and shall not be deemed to be any indication of the meaning of the clauses to which they relate. 14.2 This Agreement and all rights under it may be assigned or transferred by Remotewatch. 14.3 Remotewatch shall be entitled to perform any or all of its obligations through a third party provided always that any act or omission of any such third party shall for the purposes of this Agreement be deemed to be the act or omission of Remotewatch. 14.4 This Agreement shall be governed by English law in every particular including formation and interpretation and shall be deemed to have been made in England. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. 14.5 All rights granted to either of the parties shall be cumulative and no exercise by either of the parties of any right under this Agreement shall restrict or prejudice the exercise of any other right granted by this Agreement or otherwise available to it. 14.6 No term shall survive expiry or termination of this Agreement unless expressly provide. 14.7 Failure by either party to enforce at any time or for any period any one or more of the terms of the Agreement shall not be a waiver of them or of the right at any time subsequently to enforce all terms and conditions of this Agreement. 14.8 The Subscriber shall not assign or subcontract this Agreement or any of its rights under this Agreement without the consent in writing of Remotewatch. 14.9 These Terms & Conditions shall be deemed to have been accepted by the subscriber upon the connection, acceptance, service provision and invoicing of the service by Remotewatch to the Subscriber, unless Remotewatch has been notified otherwise by the Subscriber within 7 days of the commencement of the Minimum Period.RWMC-2016 Alarm Monitoring Policy V1-Jan2021 INTRODUCTION The following alarm filtering procedures adopted by ARC will be used when dealing with all EXISTING and any new alarm systems. Note: ACPOS alarm filtering requirements may differ for systems that are covered by the following police forces: Central Scotland Dumfries & Galloway Fife Grampian Lothian & Borders Northern Strathclyde Tayside DEFINITIONS For the purposes of this document, the following definitions have been taken from the NSI Code of Practice for Intruder Alarms Signalling to Alarm Receiving Centres (NACP14): ALARM FILTERING A procedure whereby remotely notified alarm conditions are intentionally delayed at the Alarm Receiving Centre and their status reviewed for the purpose of cancelling certain alarm conditions, where such cancellation is authorised by the client. ALD Audio Listening Device AMD Audio Monitoring Device ARC Alarm Receiving Centre AUDIBLY CONFIRMED Designated at the Alarm Receiving Centre by interpreting audio information received from the supervised premises and determination of a high probability that a genuine alarm has occurred. CIE Control and Indicating Equipment GENUINE ALARM Policed alarm condition which has resulted from: a) a criminal attack, damage, or attempt at such,, upon/to the supervised premises, the alarm equipment or the transmission path carrying the alarm signal; or b) actions by emergency services in the execution of their duties; or c) a call emanating from a Hold-Up alarm system made to summon urgent assistance when an assailant enters a previously defined area with the intention of harming or threatening any person within that defined area HAS Hold-up Alarm System HD Hold-up Device HUA Hold-up Alarm IAS Intruder Alarm System MIS-OPERATION SIGNAL Signal that is identifiable at the Alarm Receiving Centre as indicating that the intruder alarm system has mis-operated and therefore that the remotely notified alarm condition is to be cancelled and regarded as a false alert. SEQUENTIALLY CONFIRMED Condition emanating from two or more independent detectors, which are configured such that there is a high probability that a genuine intrusion or a genuine attempted intrusion has occurred. SET (CLOSED) The state of an Intruder Alarm system, or part thereof, in which an alarm condition can be sent to warning devices or receiving equipment. UNCONFIRMED ALARM Signal that has not been designated as audibly confirmed, visually confirmed or sequentially confirmed. UNSET (OPEN) The state of an Intruder Alarm system, or part thereof, in which an alarm condition cannot be sent to warning devices or receiving equipment. VISUALLY CONFIRMED Designation by an Alarm Receiving Centre by interpreting visual information transmitted from the supervised premises and determining that there is a high probability that a genuine alarm has occurred. VMD Video Monitoring Device GDPR The ARC holds personal information on keyholders/system users of your system installations for the purposes of passing information to and from these individuals. This information is limited to such as the active state of the system, CCTV images (where relevant to the system being monitored) and information that may have been passed to the emergency services. This information is retained both within our control software data base and voice recordings. Retention Periods: The data base is retained for the life of the contract plus 3 years Voice recordings are retained for a minimum period of 3 months CCTV Images are retained for 90 days unless we have justification for retaining for a longer period such as for evidence in a criminal case. ARC do not pass this information to any person or organisation outside of validated system users/keyholders, the emergency services or to you as the Installer/Maintainer. You have a right of access to this information, it’s correction if inaccurate and for it’s deletion as defined within our Data Protection and Privacy Policy. ALARM RESPONSE TIMES Unless otherwise agreed in writing, action will be taken to establish communications with the control room of an appropriate emergency service, or to commence a filtering procedure, within the following times of receipt of the alarm signal: For Fire alarms: 60 seconds for 10% of signals received* For Fire alarms: 30 seconds for 90% of signals received* For Hold-up Alarms: 30 seconds for 80% of signals received and 60 seconds for 98.5% of signals received* For other alarms: 90 seconds for 80% of signals received and 180 seconds for 98.5% of signals received For CCTV images: 90 seconds for 80% of initial activations received and 180 seconds for 98.5% of initial activations received (BS8418). Alarm signals/conditions to which alarm filtering is required to be applied will be subject to an intentional delay of 120 seconds before being extended to the police, as an opportunity for the alarm to be designated as a false alert and therefore cancelled as part of the alarm filtering routine. BS8243 Criteria for sequentially confirmed intruder alarm systems: For an alarm condition to be regarded as sequentially confirmed: a) The IAS should be configured so that at least two separate alarm conditions are reported, each originating from an independent detector within the confirmation time; b) The two detectors should either be of: a. different technologies which are permitted to have overlapping areas of coverage or b. the same single technology and not have overlapping areas of coverage To be regarded as independent, each detector should be configured to report alarm conditions separately to the CIE. In addition, the input signal of one detector should not influence the output of another detector. The intruder confirmation time should be not less than 30 minutes and not more than 60 minutes. Types of alarm condition permitted to contribute to a sequentially confirmed intruder alarm a) Intruder b) Intruder during entry time (detector not part of entry route) c) Expiry of entry time d) Tamper (not from the activated detector) Designation of IAS signals for sequential confirmation: An alarm condition from the first IAS detector to activate should initiate transmission of an unconfirmed intruder alarm to the ARC. If an independent IAS detector subsequently activates within the confirmation time, then an unambiguous sequentially confirmed intruder alarm should be presented to the ARC operator. If a separate (i.e. independently reporting) IAS detector does not activate within the confirmation time, then the IAS should be reinstated automatically. Unconfirmed alarms are subject to an intentional delay of 120 seconds so that there is an opportunity for the alarm signal to be designated as being a false alert and therefore cancelled as part of the alarm filtering routine. If, during the 120 seconds, we receive a signal that is identifiable as either: a) being a mis-operation signal OR b) indicating that the alarm system is unset then, in the absence of any contrary indications, the signalled alarm condition will be designated as being a false alert and regard the signalled alarm condition as cancelled (SEE POINT 12 FOR FURTHER DETAILS). If a sequentially confirmed alarm is received during this time, then the alarm call will be delayed until the end of the 120 seconds, as an opportunity for the sequentially confirmed alarm to be designated as being a false alert. An exception to the delay may be made where all the following four conditions are satisfied: a) it has been agreed with the Client in advance to provide monitoring of setting and unsetting b) the sequentially confirmed alarm is received at least 30 min after the latest time agreed for setting c) the sequentially confirmed alarm is received at least 30 min before the earliest time agreed for unsetting d) there is separate evidence indicating that the intruder alarm system at the supervised premises is in the “set” condition and has been in the “set” condition for at least 15 minutes. Note 1: Alarm filtering will not be applied to an alarm that has been preceded by a transmission fault signal from the same supervised premises during the same set period up to a maximum of 96 hours before the alarm was received. Note 2: Alarm filtering of an unconfirmed alarm will not continue if we receive a transmission fault signal from the same supervised premises during the set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours after the alarm has been received. 4 If a second independent detector does not activate within the confirmation time and the confirmation time expires (i.e. during the set period), the Intruder Alarm System should be reinstated so that again if one detector activates, an unconfirmed alarm occurs and the confirmation time starts. (If the Intruder Alarm System is unset before expiry of the confirmation time, then reinstatement does not need to occur). 5 At the time of re-instatement of the Intruder Alarm System, an alarm condition should not occur. To achieve this the detector(s) remaining in alarm condition at the expiry of the confirmation time should be inhibited and a ‘Zone Omit’ signal sent to the ARC to indicate that the detector(s) has (have) been inhibited. ARC will inform a keyholder that detector(s) in the Intruder Alarm System are inhibited. 6 The process of reinstatement should not remove an alarm condition, so when the Intruder Alarm System is unset there should be an indication at the Control and Indicating Equipment that an alarm condition has occurred and that a restore is required. 7 Where CONFIRMATION technology is employed, it is our belief that the end-user will be best served by allowing the ARC to filter out UNCONFIRMED alarms. 8 ARC sees no point in the subscriber going to the expense of installing confirmation technology, and then allowing UNCONFIRMED alarms to be passed to the police. Any possible advantage of confirmation technology will be wiped out if the subscriber's alarm is 'blacked' by the police for false alarms! Therefore, where CONFIRMATION technology is employed, ARC policy is that we will not police unconfirmed alarms unless instructed to do so. Hold-up Alarm Systems (HAS) HASs should incorporate one or a combination of the following alarm confirmation technologies if police response has been lost and needs to be re-instated: a) audio confirmation b) visual confirmation c) sequential confirmation d) telephone confirmation (call back) An explanation of the selected combinations should be provided to the user/client to ensure the most appropriate confirmation technology is used. Unless agreed with the client in writing, sequential confirmation should be used only in conjunction with telephone confirmation. The installer should obtain written confirmation of the client/user’s acceptance of the chosen option, and detail how the confirmation works. Types of alarm condition permitted to contribute to a sequentially confirmed hold-up alarm a) Hold-up b) Tamper (not from the activated HD) The combination of a tamper alarm condition and a HUA condition should be interpreted as a confirmed HUA. Criteria for sequentially confirmed hold-up alarm systems: For an alarm condition to be regarded as sequentially confirmed: a) The HAS should be configured so that at least two separate alarm conditions are reported within the confirmation time; and b) Signals emanating from HDs should be from either: a) Two or more HDs separately identifiable at the CIE; or b) A multi action HD The hold-up confirmation time should be not less than 8 hours and not more than 20 hours. Designation of hold-up alarm (HUA) signals for sequential confirmation The first HUA signal from any HD to the CIE should initiate transmission of an unconfirmed HUA to the ARC. If the CIE receives a second HUA signal from a different HD or a second signal from a multi action HD within the confirmation time, then an unambiguous sequentially confirmed HUA should be presented to the ARC operator. If a HD is triggered, an unconfirmed alarm should occur and the confirmation time should start. If a sequential HUA does not occur within the confirmation time, the HAS should be reinstated so that if a HD is triggered, an unconfirmed alarm occurs and the confirmation time starts. NOTE If the HAS is restored before expiry of the confirmation time, then reinstatement does not need to occur. Telephone confirmation of hold-up alarm (HUA) NATIONAL POLICE CHIEFS’ COUNCIL GUIDELINES – CONFIRMATION OF HOLD-UP ALARMS: We request that you cease to use telephone call-back for confirmation of hold-up alarms in commercial premises with immediate effect in relation to all new cases involving reinstatement of police response to hold-up alarms. The ceasing of telephone call-back for hold-up alarms in commercial premises is not retrospective. However, we recommend you should review existing premises where telephone callback is used to ensure the arrangements are satisfactory. The objective here is to drive down the number of false hold-up alarms in as many cases as possible. Telephone call-back for confirmation of hold-up alarms can continue to be used in domestic premises along with audio, visual and/or sequential confirmation. For systems requiring intervention for HUA’s after loss of response for commercial sites we now recommend that audio, visual and/or sequential confirmation should be used. For systems requiring intervention for HUA’s after loss of response we can use the following procedure for residential/domestic sites: a) Ring site first for 20 seconds. If engaged or no answer inform police OR if password not quoted or duress code given inform police immediately CUSTOMER CANCELLATION FIRE ALARMS: If a Customer wishes to cancel a Fire Alarm, please ask them for a cause of the activation. If the customer informs us it is a false alarm but does not know the cause of activation, the customer will be informed that the alarm will be logged as a false alarm and no further action will be taken. They will also be informed that if they subsequently find a fire on site they will have to dial 999 to inform the fire & rescue service. OTHER ALARMS: If a Customer wishes to cancel an alarm (i.e. P/A, Intruder, Line Fault etc.) manually, we will only class it as a false alarm if the following two things occur: a) Customer must give password AND b) Customer must confirm to us that the alarm is a false alarm and provide a cause of the activation If the Customer gives us the password but does not know whether it is a false alarm or not, then further action will be taken as follows: a) We will ask the Customer if they require Police or keyholder attendance depending on the type of alarm received b) If the Customer is unsure we will inform them that we are going to call the police or keyholder depending on the type of alarm received c) If no URN or URN withdrawn we will inform a keyholdeR NB: For alarms received from residential sites we will always ring the premises first 24 hours a day, regardless of status (unless otherwise instructed) For confirmed alarms with status UNKNOWN we will always ring the premises first between 08:00-20:00, (unless otherwise instructed) CALLING THE FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE/POLICE ARC shall attempt to inform by telephone, within a reasonable time, the Appropriate Authority of any Signalled Alarm Conditions in accordance with EN50518. The following procedure will be adopted when passing alarm calls to the Fire & rescue service/Police: a) Identify that it is ARC calling b) Identify the incident as: a) Fire b) Intruder c) Personal Attack d) Duress e) Confirmed Intruder by audio/visual/sequential f) Sensor Activated CCTV g) Line Fault Supply Unique Reference Number Identify the premises i.e. confirm full name and address Confirm that we will contact keyholders Ask for and record the incident reference NOTES: If we cannot make contact with the police after 5 minutes ring keyholders. Inform them that if they find a problem on site to ring 999. However, if the keyholder requests us to keep trying then we can try again for another 5 minutes. For all Alarms if information is received from the occupier/keyholder of the protected premises that the alarm is a false alarm (and the correct password is quoted), then a second call to the police/Fire & rescue service will be made informing them that the alarm is now cancelled, and that police/Fire & rescue service attendance is therefore not now required. However, this does not guarantee that the Fire & rescue service or police will cancel their response. If an alarm e.g. Fire, P/A, confirmed alarm, line fault etc. has been passed to the Fire & rescue service or Police, and the same alarm is received again within 30 minutes, we will not inform the Fire & rescue service or Police again. In situations such as this, we will ring the site and or keyholders only. At this stage, we may also inform the keyholder that the zone which is activating will be isolated for 60 minutes. If after 60 minutes it is still coming through then we may ring the keyholder again and inform them it will be isolated for 24 hours. If the zone cannot be isolated for certain systems then the category may be placed on test – but again the keyholder must be informed of this e.g. all power fail type signals have been placed on test for 24 hours. Police will not be informed if the URN is on level 3 or has been withdrawn. KEYHOLDER CONTACT PROCEDURE Following an alarm activation, we will attempt to inform one contact from a list provided to ARC in writing by the Customer of any Signalled Alarm Conditions in accordance with EN50518. We will attempt to contact the first keyholder listed on the alarm screen, for a period of 1-minute using the primary number listed on the alarm screen. Where a number is found to be engaged or there is No Reply from that keyholder on the primary number, we will attempt any other numbers listed on the alarm screen for the keyholder. The duration of each attempt shall be 1-minute. All actions will be entered onto the alarm screen log. Once it is established that there is No Reply or that the keyholder is out we will move to the next keyholder and repeat the above, either until contact is made, or it is deemed that all numbers have been tried and there is no keyholder available. After all attempts to contact keyholders have failed we will inform the appropriate police force/Fire & rescue service that No Keyholders are Available. The keyholders will then be retried again after 15 minutes and then after 30 minute intervals twice, up to a maximum of 1 hour and 15 minutes after the alarm event. For response withdrawn or keyholder only systems, we will follow the above steps 1-5 as applicable. Once it is deemed that No Keyholders are Available at that time we will Sleep the alarm for 15 minutes. The keyholders will then be again after 15 minutes and then after 30 minute intervals twice, up to a maximum of 1 hour and 15 minutes after the alarm event. Once this time has elapsed without contact we will cancel the alarm with the comments No Further Action Possible. Where the keyholder being informed is a guarding or key-holding company, we will request a reference number once the company has been informed; where this is not available the initials of the person receiving the call will be taken. ARC shall ensure that the keyholder is informed personally, a message left with a relative (especially a child) shall not be classed as “keyholder informed”. Unless specifically requested in site special actions, ARC shall not leave a message on keyholder answer machines. Any message that is left on an answer machine shall not be classed as “keyholder informed”. When contacting a keyholder, if the keyholder wishes to discuss details of system activations, resets, police response, other keyholder information etc. we must ask for the system password first. If the keyholder states they are on site OR that the alarm is a false alarm OR when a keyholder has the same telephone number as the site, then we will request their password before we can close the alarm down. NB - This does not apply to guarding companies who are on site. The keyholder must be informed of the exact type of alarm received, particularly whether the alarm is unconfirmed or confirmed. The keyholder must be informed of the full name and address including postcode of the site that has activated. Keyholders must be available 24 hours every day and be contactable by telephone. Answering machines or message services are not acceptable. Keyholders must have their own transport and be able to attend site within 20 minutes of the initial call. Keyholders must have access to appropriate codes and be conversant with their alarm equipment. For low priority alarms e.g. AC Power Fail, Battery Fail, BT Link Down, BT Link OK, Fault Alarms, Mains Failure, Low Battery, Low RF Battery, Panel Fault, Power Loss, PSTN Low Voltage and System Trouble, a single attempt will made to contact the client/clients appointed key-holders advising them of the issue after which the alarm will be cleared down with the comments No Further Action Possible. MONITORING OF SETTING AND UNSETTING Where monitoring of setting and unsetting of an Intruder Alarm System is carried out, the police will not be called to respond in relation to user deviation from the agreed time schedules for setting and unsetting. ARC will contact the Customer and/or other users/keyholders as agreed with the Customer. Where monitoring of setting and un-setting of an alarm is carried out, you will receive daily Activation Reports. It is your responsibility to review these reports to detect any pattern of premature un-setting and contact your Customer to either agree the un-setting time is complied with or the revised times agreed and passed to ARC in writing. Our tolerance on un-setting times is 30-seconds from the agreed un-setting time. Where specifically requested in writing to do so by the Customer, such request having been acknowledged and accepted by ARC in writing, ARC shall contact the premises and/or one contact in the event of a monitored setting/un-setting signal outside of the agreed time frame. TESTS Please note that all systems are placed on test till 18:00 hrs (unless otherwise instructed by the caller), and will automatically be taken off test at this time by the computer system. For sites that are placed on test after 18:00 hrs the caller will be asked to specify the duration of the test i.e. 1hr, 2hr etc. Systems may only be placed on test for a maximum of 24 hours for all requests made by telephone. If a longer test period is required the request must be confirmed in writing. NB: Alarm Engineers may place a site on test up to a maximum period of 7 days (provided a valid engineer code is quoted). ENVIRONMENTAL ALARMS Examples of these types of alarms are temperature, boiler, lift etc. Action will be taken every time an environmental type alarm is received, however, the same keyholder contact procedure will be used as for other types of alarms. BATTERY FAILURE SIGNALS A Battery Failure signal is received when the voltage to the alarm panel has dropped substantially. This can occur when either the mains power has been off for a long period OR there is a fault. ARC will contact the Customer and/or keyholders, and will advise them to contact their alarm company immediately in order for the failure to be correctly diagnosed and fixed (if req’d). TAMPER DETECTION AMDs, ALDs, VMDs and imaging devices, and the circuit interconnections for these devices should be provided with tamper detection in accordance with the standard applicable to the IAS. MISCELLANEOUS ARC will carry out any reasonable special instructions provided in writing by the Customer upon receipt of Signalled Alarm Conditions provided always that ARC reserves the right to disregard such special instructions if impracticable to comply with or otherwise in exceptional circumstances. ARC will provide to the Customer in writing periodic reports detailing Signalled Alarm Conditions, and false alarms and data regarding errors or faults in the End User equipment and Customer equipment, to enable the Customer to identify and remedy such errors or faults. ARC shall, where specifically requested in writing to do so by the Customer such request having been acknowledged and accepted by ARC in writing; inform the Customer by telephone of any Signalled Alarm Conditions not covered by BS EN 50518. ARC shall provide to the Customer remote access to our Portal to enable the Customer to review Signalled Alarm Conditions, false alarms and other data relating to the Customer, or where the Customer has an End User to the End User, in accordance with the Agreement. ALARM FILTERING PROCEDURE FIRE ALARM: (premises open) Call premises first at all times (maximum of 60 seconds) - if engaged or no answer Fire & rescue service informed. NB - Keyholders will not be informed if the premises are open, unless specifically asked to do so in writing or if advised by fire & rescue service of non-attendance until confirmed. (premises unknown) 08:00-20:00 call premises first (maximum of 60 seconds) - if engaged or no answer Fire & rescue service and keyholders informed. (premises closed) Fire & rescue service informed. Keyholders informed NB – If site or keyholders request the Fire & rescue service at any time during the activation or immediately after the activation, we will notify the fire & rescue service immediately. HOLD UP ALARM: Police informed For systems where confirmation of HUA signals is being utilised, we will use the following procedure: Telephone Confirmation for residential/domestic sites only - Ring site first for 20 seconds. If engaged or no answer inform police OR if password not quoted or duress code given inform police immediately. Designation of hold-up alarm (HUA) signals for audio/visual/sequential confirmation: UNCONFIRMED HUA: Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) CONFIRMED HUA: Police informed Note - The combination of a tamper alarm condition and a HUA condition should be interpreted as a confirmed HUA (see section 2 – BS8243 - Types of alarm condition permitted to contribute to a sequentially confirmed HUA). Note – If premises status is showing closed then keyholders will be informed as well as police. DESIGNATION OF IAS SIGNALS FOR SEQUENTIAL CONFIRMATION UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises open) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) UNCONFIRMED ALARM (See note below for unconfirmed alarms installed before Oct 2001): (premises closed) Keyholders informed SEQUENTIALLY CONFIRMED ALARM: (premises open) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) SEQUENTIALLY CONFIRMED ALARM: (premises closed) Police & Keyholders informed Note - The combination of a tamper alarm condition and an intruder alarm condition should be interpreted as a confirmed alarm (see section 2 – BS8243 - Types of alarm condition permitted to contribute to a sequentially confirmed intruder alarm) NB - SYSTEMS INSTALLED BEFORE OCTOBER 2001: UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises closed) Police & Keyholders informed MIS-OPERATION SIGNAL All Intruder and Hold-up Alarm Systems should either: Send Open/Close signals to indicate status of protected premises. UNCONFIRMED intruder alarms received from premises that utilise Open/Close signalling, and indicate closed, will automatically be delayed for 120 seconds to await receipt of an OPEN signal. If a sequentially confirmed alarm is received during this time, then the alarm call will be delayed until the end of the 120 seconds, as an opportunity for the sequentially confirmed alarm to be designated as being a false alert OR Generate a secondary signal (either on a separate channel or a restore from the same channel) following alarm activation to indicate mis-operation of the alarm system. This practice is commonly referred to within the industry as Alarm and Abort. The means to conform to at least one of these options should be present whenever there is a possibility of an alarm signal being transmitted to the ARC. OPEN AS ABORT: Sites that transmit an intruder type event e.g. intruder alarm, confirmed alarm, followed by an OPEN signal within 120 seconds will AUTOMATICALLY be screened out by our computer system with NO ACTION TAKEN. Sites that transmit an UNCONFIRMED INTRUDER alarm followed by an OPEN signal AFTER 120 seconds will be CANCELLED manually by one of our operators with NO FURTHER ACTION TAKEN (SEE NOTE BELOW). ALARM & ABORT SIGNAL: Sites that transmit an intruder type event e.g. intruder alarm, confirmed alarm, followed by an ABORT signal within 120 seconds will AUTOMATICALLY be screened out by our computer system with NO ACTION TAKEN. Sites that transmit an UNCONFIRMED INTRUDER alarm followed by an ABORT signal AFTER 120 seconds will be CANCELLED manually by one of our operators with NO FURTHER ACTION TAKEN (SEE NOTE BELOW). Installers, who wish to use the Alarm & Abort method, should transmit the secondary signal (ABORT) on channels 4-8.UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL AN ABORT SIGNAL BE ACCEPTED ON CHANNELS 1-3. The channel to be used must be specified on the Request for Connection Form. ARC can also abort INTRUDER alarms that are followed by a RESTORE signal (please notify us in writing if you wish us to set this up). All chips programmed by ARC will automatically have RESTORE signals programmed as standard for all alarm channels. Chips or programmable panels programmed by an alarm company engineer MUST have RESTORE signals programmed in. ALARMS FROM PREMISES STATUS UNKNOWN INTRUDER alarms from systems that are not currently transmitting a mis-operation signal will be classed as alarms from PREMISES WITH STATUS UNKNOWN. On receipt of INTRUDER alarms where the premises status is unknown, they will be actioned as follows: UNCONFIRMED ALARM: Residential: Premises contacted 24 hours a day. Commercial: 08:00-20:00 Premises contacted 1st Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) SEQUENTIALLY CONFIRMED ALARM: Residential: Premises contacted 24 hours a day. Commercial: 08:00-20:00 Premises contacted 1st Police & Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) REDCARE LINE FAULT SIGNALS To be able to fully monitor the REDCARE Line Fault Signals, ARC requires that ALL REDCARE systems transmit Open / Close signals. Accordingly, ALL chips supplied by ARC will have Open / Close programmed as standard. Line Fault signals received on their own from REDCARE systems will not be passed to the Police. Redcare Line Fault with Premises OPEN: Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) Redcare Line Fault with Premises CLOSED: Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) Redcare Line Fault Premises STATUS UNKNOWN: Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) CONFIRMED ALARM: (i.e. Intruder Alarm followed by a Line Fault during a single set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours) (premises open) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) CONFIRMED ALARM: (i.e. Intruder Alarm followed by a Line Fault during a single set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours) (premises closed/unknown – for unknown same procedure as section 11 will be followed) Police & Keyholders informed Any LINK DOWN and LINK UP (REDCARE NETWORK NO RESPONSE) messages will be passed to site/keyholders ONLY. SIGNALS FROM DUAL SIGNALLING SYSTEMS This section deals with signals from dual signalling systems e.g. REDCARE products, DUALCOM products, EMIZON etc. There are two circumstances in Intruder Alarm Systems installed in accordance with BS 8243 where there might be high confidence that there is genuine intrusion or genuine attempted intrusion, therefore requiring a police response: If a transmission fault signal is received followed by an alarm signal, or vice versa, from the same supervised premises during a single set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours If two transmission fault signals exist at the same time from the supervised premises, one from each of two transmission paths of different technologies (e.g. cable and radio) during a single set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours The combination of a transmission fault signal and a HUA condition should be interpreted as a confirmed HUA. UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises open) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises closed) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises status unknown) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) CONFIRMED ALARM: (i.e. Intruder Alarm followed or proceeded by a Line Fault or Radio Signal Fail during a single set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours – see notes on page6) (premises open) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) CONFIRMED ALARM: (i.e. Intruder Alarm followed or proceeded by a Line Fault or Radio Signal Fail during a single set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours – see notes on page6) (premises closed/unknown – for unknown same procedure as section 11 will be followed) Police & Keyholders informed LINE FAULT & RADIO POLL FAIL: (i.e. Exist at same time during a single set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours) (premises open) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) LINE FAULT & RADIO POLL FAIL: (i.e. Exist at same time during a single set period of up to a maximum of 96 hours) (premises closed/unknown – for unknown same procedure as section 14 will be followed) Police & Keyholders informed LINE FAULT: Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) GSM FAIL/GPRS FAIL (Dualcom Systems): Log Only GSM FAIL (Redcare Systems): Log only provided that poll is successful on landline. If land line not responding i.e., in fault then: (premises open) Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) (premises closed/unknown – for unknown same procedure as section 14 will be followed) Police & Keyholders informed Redcare Secure using PSTN 955 alarm is line fault (PSTN voltage fail) – Key Holder Response 1022 alarm is radio fault (Polling of wireless has failed – server generated) – Key Holder Response 1023 alarm is also line fault (Polling of line has failed – server generated) – Key Holder Response 955 followed by a 1022 is both paths gone (confirmed alarm) – Police Response 1022 followed by a 1023 is both paths gone (confirmed alarm) – Police Response 1023 followed by a 1022 is both paths gone (confirmed alarm) – Police Response 955 followed by Intruder – Police Response 1022 followed by intruder (confirmed alarm) – Police Response 1023 followed by intruder (confirmed alarm) – Police Response Dualcom GPRS using PSTN GPRS fail is radio fault – Log only Line fault is line down – Key Holder Response Polling fail is both paths down – Key Holder Response GPRS fail followed by Poll fail – Log only Line fault followed by Poll fail – Key Holder Response GPRS fail followed by Intruder (confirmed alarm) – Police Response Line fault followed by Intruder (confirmed alarm) – Police Response The Police or such other authority as the subscriber requires shall be notified of the receipt of any valid alarm signal from supervised premises at which the intruder alarm system, or part thereof, is armed. All operating procedures in force which relate to the alarm handling function shall comply with the Police Security Systems Policy. AUDIBLY CONFIRMED ALARM SIGNALS ARC currently offers facilities for the monitoring of the following types of Audio Confirmation equipment (which are all initiated by ARC (i.e. dial back): AV 60 - Available from ICM Developments TalkDac - Available from DA Systems Verified Audio - Available from Verified Systems CSL Audio - Available from CSL Systems Installers must specify the type of equipment used when completing a Request for ARC Connection form. In the case of audio confirmation of intruder detection, the listen-in periods will be a minimum of 60 seconds and include all of the stored audio if live audio does not provide sounds consistent with intrusion or attempted intrusion into the supervised premises. Therefore, there should be: stored audio of not less than 10 seconds immediately before an alarm condition, which is stored at the supervised premises ready for transmission to the Alarm Receiving Centre stored audio of not less than 15 seconds immediately after an alarm condition, which is stored at the supervised premises ready for transmission to the Alarm Receiving Centre As soon as ARC reaches a decision that the sounds emanating from the supervised premises are consistent with intrusion or attempted intrusion into the supervises premises, the alarm signal will be designated as being an audibly confirmed alarm signal. If sounds are inconclusive with regard to intrusion or attempted intrusion into the supervised premises, the alarm signal will be designated as an unconfirmed alarm (unless a sequentially confirmed alarm occurs). UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises open) Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) AUDIBLY CONFIRMED ALARM (UNLESS WRITTEN AUTHORISATION “TO CALL POLICE' IS GIVEN): (premises open) Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises closed) Keyholders informed AUDIBLY CONFIRMED ALARM: (premises closed) Police & Keyholders informed UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises unknown) Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) AUDIBLY CONFIRMED ALARM: (premises unknown) Police & Keyholders informed VISUALLY CONFIRMED ALARM SIGNALS Installers must specify the type of equipment used when completing a Request for ARC Connection form. Also, a detailed list is required of where the cameras are installed within the protected premises. Intruder alarm systems equipped with visual confirmation of intruder detection should also be configured to generate sequentially confirmed alarms. Imaging devices should be sited to avoid light sources that could interfere with viewing by our operator and the field of view should be illuminated so that we receive a clear image. The imaging device should also view all of the area of coverage of any accompanying detector. After an alarm condition there should be a minimum of three images transmitted to the Alarm Receiving Centre, one image at the time of the alarm condition or the video monitoring device (VMD) activation, and two more images afterwards within 5 seconds of the alarm condition or the VMD activation. As soon as ARC reaches a decision that the images emanating from the supervised premises are consistent with intrusion or attempted intrusion at the supervises premises, the alarm signal will be designated as being a visually confirmed alarm signal. If images are inconclusive with regard to intrusion or attempted intrusion into the supervised premises, the alarm signal will be designated as an unconfirmed alarm (unless a sequentially confirmed alarm occurs). UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises open) Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) VISUALLY CONFIRMED ALARM (UNLESS WRITTEN AUTHORISATION “NOT TO CALL POLICE” IS GIVEN): (premises open) Police & Keyholders informed UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises closed) Keyholders informed VISUALLY CONFIRMED ALARM: (premises closed) Police & Keyholders informed UNCONFIRMED ALARM: (premises unknown) Premises informed Keyholders informed (if no reply from premises / False Alarm Code not known) VISUALLY CONFIRMED ALARM: (premises unknown) Police & Keyholders informed CCTV ACTIVATIONS Request for CCTV Connection Form (our ref. RWMC2005), a site map with location and field of view of cameras and associated detectors must be completed and received by ARC at least 24 hours before an engineer attends site for all new CCTV connections. For BS 8418 systems an Inventory of CCTV equipment installed must also be supplied. NB – Any system requiring police response must have a URN and conform to BS 8418 - Installation and remote monitoring of detector activated CCTV systems – Code of practice. The response below will be taken in conjunction with the Response Plan for each site supplied by the Customer. View and study the captured alarm frame(s) for signs of activity. Once these frames have been viewed read the site instructions listed on the screen and follow. Having viewed the alarm frame(s) we can then accept any further alarms from the site. If we do not observe any persons or suspicious activity, no further action will be taken and the alarm will be cleared down with an appropriate comment logged. If we observe suspicious activity and the system allows, ARC will use the PTZ function to take control of the cameras. (NB. We will not take control of any PTZ camera unless suspicious activity is observed as this could over-ride the pre-set control and therefore potentially result in missed intrusion detection). If there is no cause for the alarm visible, enter the comments “Nothing Suspicious Seen” on the alarm screen, clear down the alarm activation. This step shall only be taken if there are no special instructions requiring other actions, i.e. to inform keyholder upon activation. If activity of any kind is seen this must be noted on the Alarm Screen (e.g. animal activity, wind-blown rubbish etc.). If persons or suspicious activity is observed, the audio system shall be used and a keyholder will be informed. If an attempt to break-in to the premises is being made, or an actual break-in is in progress pass the event to either the relevant police force (if there is a URN) and/or a keyholder giving full details of all events seen. Stay on-line to the site if requested by Police to enable updates to be passed to the police officers responding. Full details of any activity shall be logged on the Alarm Screen. Before police action is taken double-check the site special instructions to ensure police action is required. When issuing audio follow any instructions pertaining to the text of such an audio message. Once the alarm has been passed to the police pass any other information to the police if further incidents are observed. If during the handling of an activation the quality of the image is identified as poor (e.g. due to lamp failure), or if a “failure to restart” or “restart signal” is received, please follow the customer response plan for the site. If critical data required to complete the response effectively is unavailable or inaccurate (e.g. a user who is no longer valid), a fixed format notice will be issued (using CCTV Exceptions/Fault Notice form) to the Customer advising of the nature of the problem and requesting that remedial action be taken or to supply missing data. Ensure all incidents are logged with details of cause of activation and action taken. Video Loss Alarms - view cameras in multiple screen mode to check that all cameras are visible. If any camera(s) is not visible please report to a keyholder immediately and record this in the logs. REMOTE RESETTING OF SIGNALLING SYSTEMS INTRODUCTION It is the policy of ARC when carrying out the Remote Resetting of Signalling Systems, to at ALL times follow the procedures and guidelines laid down in: BS 8473 Intruder and hold-up alarm systems – Management of false alarms PD 6662 Scheme for the application of European Standards for intruder and hold-up alarm systems BS EN 50131-1 Alarm Systems – Intrusion Systems – Part 1: System Requirements BS 4737-4-4.2 Intruder alarm systems in buildings – Part 4: Codes of Practice – Section 4.2: Code of practice for maintenance and records The procedure stated below has been implemented with immediate effect. SCOPE Resets Given to Subscribers The Remote Resetting of Signalling Systems will ONLY be authorised by ARC personnel if the cause of the alarm activation is determined by ARC Staff in conjunction with the user or alarm company service technician, to fall into one of the following categories: COMPANY-RELATED FALSE ALARMS – NOTE – Incorrect siting, coverage, range or choice of detector would fall under point i, ii and iii below. System Design – Any false alarm attributable to incorrect design of the alarm installation or the faulty application of detection devices; includes any false alarm attributable to electrical interference or transients from which the I&HAS (Intruder & Hold-up Alarm Systems) should be immune, such as mains transients, effects of electrical storm, CB or radio interference; also includes the effects of mains power failure and activations caused by rodents, insects, birds, bats, etc. System Installation – Any false alarm attributable to poor workmanship (except as covered by iii below) System Maintenance/Repair – Any false alarm attributable to lack of preventative maintenance or to poor workmanship in carrying out repairs during breakdown calls. Procedural Failure – Any false alarm attributable to failure to put an I&HAS onto test when carrying out maintenance or repair. Control Equipment – Any false alarm directly attributable to an electrical or mechanical failure of control equipment which cannot be attributable to any other category, and which would result in repair or replacement of the control equipment or any part of the control equipment. Movement Detectors - Any false alarm directly attributable to an electrical or mechanical failure of a movement detector, which cannot be attributed to any other category and which would result in the repair or replacement of the movement detector or of any part of the movement detector. Other Electrical/Electronic Devices - Any false alarm directly attributable to an electrical or mechanical failure of any electrical or electronic device, other than one listed above, which cannot be attributed to any other category, and which would result in the report or replacement of the electrical or electronic device or of any part thereof. Non-Electrical/Electronic Device - Any false alarm directly attributable to an electrical or mechanical failure but which cannot be attributed to any other category and which would result in the repair or replacement of the failed item. OPERATOR-RELATED FALSE ALARMS – Insecure Premises - any false alarm attributable to the condition of doors, windows and other openings into the supervised premises. NOTE - openings might or might not be supervised by I&HAS detectors but are sited within the I&HAS supervised area. Operator Error - any false alarm attributable to actions by untrained or inadequately trained operators of the I&HAS. Wrong Entry Procedure - any false alarm attributable to action by the operator, which differs from the operational instructions given to the client on the correct course of actions to follow when entering the supervised premises. Wrong Exit Procedure - any false alarm attributable to any deviation by the operator from the operational instructions given to the client on the correct course of action to follow when leaving the supervised premises. Twenty-Four Hour Equipment - any false alarm attributable to the deliberate or accidental operation of continuously (twenty-four hour) operated detectors/devices on the I&HAS. Irregular Opening / Closing – any false alarm attributable to the opening/closing of premises outside of the periods agreed with the installing/maintaining alarm company. NOTE – For systems installed in accordance with BS 8243 the police would not be notified of irregular opening or closing of the premises outside the agreed time schedules. ARC-RELATED FALSE ALARMS – Examples of ARC related false alarms include the following: Human error Policing a system while system is on test Failing to put systems on test Policing unconfirmed alarms from confirmed systems Passing of incorrect information to police ARC equipment failure NOTE: The Remote Reset procedure listed below will only apply to policed activations. Where an alarm system has not been passed to the police the Customer will be allowed 6 remote resets in 28 days. However, remote resets will not be issued if points a, b or c below apply. For policed activations Remote Resets will NOT be given to a subscriber under ANY circumstances where: identification of the operator at the protected premises is not possible from the Password given by the telephone caller cause of alarm is not known – the cause of the remotely notified alarm condition has not been clearly described by the subscriber, or the description given is not consistent with the remotely notified alarm condition having been caused by operator error there is faulty equipment – the description of the cause of the remotely notified alarm condition given by the subscriber is consistent with there being no requirement for a corrective maintenance visit more than 2-policed alarm conditions have occurred in the last 12 months NOTE: A remote reset will be permitted if a genuine alarm, or genuine confirmed alarm, has occurred. However, ARC will advise the operator that insurance cover could be invalidated if a service technician’s visit does not take place and the I&HAS is subsequently found not to be in full working order. Where reset is denied, the alarm company’s service technician should visit the supervised premises for the purpose of identifying the cause of the alarm condition, carrying out corrective maintenance/action and ensuring that the I&HAS is in full working order and: in the case of a false alarm due to operator error, educating the operator in the operation of the I&HAS, and the avoidance of false alarms if design faults are noted these are reported to the Systems Performance Manager by the next working day. CONTACT PROCEDURE A subscriber requiring a Remote Reset must telephone the ARC on 01302 543275. Remote Resets will ONLY be given to subscribers who can quote their PASSWORD and ARC computer search facilities will NOT be used to identify sites. The subscriber must also have a valid reason for the alarm activation as listed above. RESETS GIVEN TO ALARM COMPANY SERVICE TECHNICIANS ARC Staff will ALWAYS give a Remote Reset to alarm company service technicians who quote EITHER the individual ENGINEER ID CODE OR the SITE PASSWORD / CHIP NUMBER. Where an Engineer ID Code has been quoted, remote resets given to alarm company service technicians, will not be counted when totalling the number of resets given to determine if the maximum number of Resets has been exceeded. FINAL DECISION AT ALL TIMES THE FINAL DECISION WITH REGARDS TO THE GRANTING OF REMOTE RESETS WILL REST WITH THE ON-DUTY ARC SUPERVISOR. AT ALL TIMES THE MANAGEMENT OF ARC WILL BACK THE JUDGEMENT OF THE SUPERVISOR IN THIS MATTER.