Benefits of Video Alarm Monitoring over Traditional Alarm Systems
Standard detectors measures changes in movement using an Infra red beam which measures changes in heat. In the two examples below, both sensors have been triggered.
Example 1 is a genuine alarm with a lead thief caught on the roof. Example 2 we have birds caught on the roof.
A standard detector without video cannot decipher the difference between.
Both are treated as the same alarmed event and treated identically. Very often sensors need to be placed at a low level on the church roof. This makes them even more susceptible to false alarms though wildlife.
Treated as suspicious, Siren activated by Operator, Police called by key holder, Police prioritise resources.
Treated as suspicious, Siren Activated, Police not called until key holder confirms on attendance.
Treated as a false alarm, No Key holders contacted, No Siren activated.
Treated as suspicious, Key holders contacted and required to attend church, Siren Activated.
The Ace Defence Motion Activated CCTV (MAC) System
Example 1 Once the motion sensor is triggered a 10 second video clip is then recorded and transmitted to the video alarm receiving centre. This provides the added advantage of a secondary confirmation on the alarm. The video clip confirms there is an intruder and the operator can treat this as an urgent event to action. They will activate a siren and call the key holders. Once a key holder is called they can use the ‘999’ system to call the police. As the evidence given to the police is happening in ‘real time’ and can be confirmed with video, they will prioritise resources to deal with this. If there are further activations these will be passed to the key holders so they can make real time threat assessments as they attend. All video clips are stored on a remote server for evidential gathering purposes at a later stage.
Example 2 The operator will see that this is a false alarm and the event will be closed down with no key holders contacted. No Siren is activated.
Traditional External Movement Sensor System
Example 1 Once the motion sensor is triggered the alarm receiving centre receive the activation and the operator will inform the key holders. A siren is automatically activated. Traditional external alarm systems do not come with automatic police response. At this stage police cannot be called via the ‘999’ system as there is no real time confirmation that a crime is taking place. The key holder then needs to attend the church and make a visual assessment before calling the police. This places them in danger of being attacked. Police can then be called if persons are seen in the act of committing a crime.
Example 2 This event comes through as an alarm and as there is no way of confirming it is wild life, it is treated as a genuine alarm and the operator will call the key holders as in Example 1. The siren is automatically activated, causing unnecessary distress to residents and people at the church. The key holder will then attend the church to make a visual assessment. It may be difficult in the dark to do this effectively and consequently they may need to attend again the next day and go on the roof to see if there are any signs of damage/theft. They will then establish that this was a false alarm. With travel time this may cause a key holder to waste 2-4 hrs of their time to make a proper assessment before they realise it was. If a key holder company has been used there will be a cost to this of typically £40 per hr.
Alarm System Feature Comparison
| Secondary confirmation using video |  |
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| Siren operated by Operator | |
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| Prioritised Police Response | |
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| Key holder protected from Intruder confrontation | |
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| Annual Monitoring Cost |
Video Alarm Monitoring Benefits
- Reduced risks to your staff. The key holder can call police before attending, allowing them to meet at the church before doing an assessment.
- Reduced costs in false alarm attendance. There are no false alarm calls so your staff will not be inconvenienced and employed key holders will not bill you necessarily.
- Prioritised Attendance from Police. Once called using the ‘999’ system police will treat this as an urgent response alarm. This provides the maximum chance of an apprehension and minimises the scale of the damage that may be caused.
- Reduced Distress to Residents and Church Visitors from Unnecessary Siren Activations. The siren is set off by the operator only when they confirm there is an intruder on the roof and not simple as an automated process triggered by wildlife.
