Many police forces today have implemented the national policy on responding to security systems. In 2003 one particular police force in the UK recorded over 20,000 intruder alarm calls from monitored alarm systems and found that only 5.6% or 1138, call outs, where genuine activations as a result of a crime being committed.

The policy, which aims to reduce the amount of time and resources wasted on unnecessary call outs, has been drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo). It hopes to raise standards and provide minimum requirements of alarm installations. It puts the onus on the security industry to provide the general public with more reliable systems.

The policy sets the threshold for the number of false calls the Force is prepared to accept, and sets charges to compensate the Force for the work incurred in setting up new systems.

The main provisions of the Acpo guidelines include:

• Alarm systems monitored by independent companies and installed after 1st October 2001 require technology which confirms the need for a police presence
• When two false alarms have been recorded within the past 12 months officers will not give the call priority treatment. If there has been more than five false calls in t a twelve month period they will not respond at all until the system is upgraded. If it has already been upgraded, the past three months must have been without any false alarms
• Police will respond to audible alarms - which make up the majority of house alarms and are not monitored by an alarm receiving company – if all indications show that an offence is in progress, such as someone being seen acting suspiciously at the location.
• Some police forces will charge an administrative fee if monitored alarm users require a police response and register their system with the police. This is not a charge for attending alarm calls, nor does it form a contract with the occupier of the premises for response to calls.