RESPONSE TO ALARM SCHEME

Envirocrime Officers at South Bedfordshire District Council have reported a good response to their call for home and building owners to register a keyholder who can be contacted if their burglar alarms sounds unintentionally. So far over 1,000 keyholders have been registered on the Envirocrime Unit’s (ECU) database, which will enable officers to deal with alarm noise more efficiently.

The District Council has signed up to an Alarm Notification Order, which passes the responsibility for maintaining a keyholder database from Bedfordshire Police to South Bedfordshire District Council. The aim is to cut the amount of time and expense it takes to deal with ringing alarms, as the police database that has traditionally held keyholder details is out of date. This can cause problems for the ECU as trying to contact the homeowner or keyholder takes up valuable time that could be spent dealing with other issues. It can also result in costs for the homeowner if the ECU have to enter the property to silence the alarm.

To comply with the order at least one keyholder must be registered with the council. That person must be able to gain access to the alarm controls; be able to reach the property within a reasonable amount of time; know how to turn the alarm off; and agree to be a keyholder. The information held on the database is secure and complies completely with the Data Protection Act.

The ECU recommends that a keyholder lives within 20 minutes of the property. This could be a neighbour, friend, relative, carer or work colleague they trust. Keyholding companies are also available as an alternative. 

If a homeowner already has their alarm registered with an alarm company such as ADT or Chubb, and they hold keyholder information then the homeowner need only give details of that company to the council. There is no need to register separate keyholders. Adaptations can be made to alarm systems, which mean a keyholder would not need access into the house or building, but just to a porch or keypad on the outside of the property. Contact your alarm installer for further details.

If an alarm does sound accidentally and the ECU receives a complaint about it, they would first visit the property and determine whether it is causing a noise nuisance. This would be if the alarm was ringing continuously for 20 minutes or intermittently for more than an hour.

Once a noise nuisance had been determined, the ECU would call the keyholder and ask them to come to the property as soon as possible. If the keyholder is not available, the ECU would serve a noise abatement notice and obtain a warrant from the police to gain entry to the house causing the least amount of damage and expense as possible. This could involve calling a locksmith, which together with the ECU’s time, could cost the homeowner up to £300 as well as taking a number of hours to resolve, causing unnecessary nuisance to neighbours. By registering a keyholder, this could be avoided.

The council followed the process set out in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act to implement the Alarm Notification Order, placing public notices in a local paper and putting the recommendation in public before the council’s Executive Committee.

The Alarm Notification Order took effect on midnight on Sunday 26 November and anyone responsible for an alarm, whether on a private or commercial property, must register keyholder details before midnight on 24 December. Anyone who has a new alarm fitted after the order takes effect must register it within 28 days.

The scheme will be monitored by the ECU in the New Year. A warning period of two months will be put in place and officers will contact homeowners who are not on the database to let them know about their responsibilities under the Order. Following the warning period, anyone who has not registered their alarm will face a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £80, or a maximum fine of £1,000 if the FPN is not paid within 14 days.

Alarms can be registered with the council by filling in a form which is available online at www.southbeds.gov.uk or from the council’s Envirocrime Unit on 01582 474031. Copies can also be collected from the District Offices on High Street North Dunstable, or from local libraries and town council offices.

Ends

Press release issued: November 28 2006