An Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) is a monitoring station, manned by people 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Teams who work in ARCs monitor a range of systems, including fire and intruder alarms, systems for monitoring elderly people, and CCTV cameras.
If your property contains high value goods, or is likely to be a target for burglars then remote monitoring by an ARC will provide an extra layer of security and added peace of mind. The ARC will ensure the intruder alarm system and, if required, your CCTV system, is being constantly monitored when the system is armed throughout the day and night.
To have remote monitoring by an ARC your intruder alarm system will be fitted with an Alarm Transmission System (ATS) which sends signals to our ARC. By monitoring these notifications, the ARC is ensuring your security systems are functioning properly and protecting your property. It means that after staff have left for the evening any unusual activity, such as a break-in, can be detected and if necessary, someone can be contacted to take action to improve security.
The team in the ARC will provide a response such as to:
- notify nominated keyholders
- notify a linked keyholding service and/or
- to notify the Police in the event of a confirmed alarm signal although you may choose not to have this option.
Traditionally you could have a Single Path (SP) transmission system so you had one line for the signal, or you could have two lines of transmission (Dual Path), which means if one line fails you have a back-up. However, SP transmission, which sends a coded message via a telephone line, is slow to report a fault and not favoured by insurers. SP transmission will also become obsolete with the switch off of the analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) taking place by 31st January 2027 and the move to faster Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Dual Path transmission is therefore the standard ATS now being offered, to ensure the alarm signalling is secure, and is functioning properly.
We are an NSI (National Security Inspectorate) Gold-approved company which means our security systems comply with the latest industry standards and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) so we can be registered with the police in England and Wales.
When we install an intruder alarm system, we will offer you a contract that covers remote monitoring by our NSI-approved ARC, as well as maintenance of your alarm, if you require this. We will also provide a certificate of compliance to the PD 6662 Standard for intruder alarms, and, if necessary, the BS 8418 Standard relating to video surveillance systems.
If customers need the police to respond to an alarm being triggered, they can be reassured that their system will meet the BS8243 standard which is essential for this. We will obtain a unique reference number (URN) from the police for your premises. Then, if you opt for a police response, we will notify our ARC of your URN enabling them to identify your premises if any alarms are triggered.
In the UK, excluding Scotland, the Police commit to immediate response (subject to priorities). However;
- Immediate response will be withdrawn following three false alarm calls in a rolling twelve-month period.
- Reinstatement of response can follow the identification of the cause of false alarms and demonstrating appropriate remedial action has been taken.
We recommend that you opt for an ongoing maintenance contract with us to ensure that you continue to get the police response required. Meanwhile the ARC monitoring team will carefully filter activations to sort which alerts are false alarms and which alarms actually require a police response. The monitoring of your CCTV system can also be beneficial for large or exposed sites.
You can choose to monitor your own burglar alarm system but doing it yourself has limitations. A self-monitored system usually refers to a security system that is set up to send notifications via a smartphone whenever a security sensor is tripped. These are standard features with the alarm systems we provide. However, you need to remember that you will only receive these notifications when you are connected to the internet.
If you need a fully-monitored system then you need to opt for remote monitoring by an ARC. To find out more, and to ensure your intruder alarm system meets all the requirements of your insurance provider, please get in touch.