Alarm notification scheme put on hold
South Bedfordshire District Council
had designated the District of South Bedfordshire as an Alarm
Notification Area however the scheme has now been postponed.
This was to affect all homes and businesses with a burglar alarm fitted.
If you had a burglar alarm you needed to register a designated keyholder with the councils 'Envirocrime Unit' database. They needed to know your name and address and the keyholders name and address. The keyholder can be a neighbour, family member, carer or friend that you trust but must meet certain criteria. They 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. It is recommended that the keyholder lives within 20 minutes of the property.
If you already have your alarm registered with an alarm company such as ADT or Chubb, and they hold keyholder information then you 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.
If an alarm does sound accidentally and the Envirocrime Unit 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.
If a noise nuisance had been determined and you were unavailable, the keyholder would be called and asked to come to the property as soon as possible. If the keyholder is not available, the Envirocrime Unit 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 Envirocrime Unit’s time, could cost you up to £300
At the beginning of 2007 a warning period of two months was put in place and officers could contact homeowners who are not on the database to let them know about their responsibilities under the Order. After the warning period, anyone who had not registered their alarm could have faced a fixed penalty notice of £80, if this was not payed within 14 days then you could receive a maximum fine of £1,000.
The Alarm Notification Order took effect on midnight on Sunday 26 November 2006 and keyholders had to be registered by 24 December 2006.
The council were hoping 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. The responsibility for maintaining a keyholder database now passes from the Police to the Council.
This was to affect all homes and businesses with a burglar alarm fitted.
If you had a burglar alarm you needed to register a designated keyholder with the councils 'Envirocrime Unit' database. They needed to know your name and address and the keyholders name and address. The keyholder can be a neighbour, family member, carer or friend that you trust but must meet certain criteria. They 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. It is recommended that the keyholder lives within 20 minutes of the property.
If you already have your alarm registered with an alarm company such as ADT or Chubb, and they hold keyholder information then you 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.
If an alarm does sound accidentally and the Envirocrime Unit 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.
If a noise nuisance had been determined and you were unavailable, the keyholder would be called and asked to come to the property as soon as possible. If the keyholder is not available, the Envirocrime Unit 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 Envirocrime Unit’s time, could cost you up to £300
At the beginning of 2007 a warning period of two months was put in place and officers could contact homeowners who are not on the database to let them know about their responsibilities under the Order. After the warning period, anyone who had not registered their alarm could have faced a fixed penalty notice of £80, if this was not payed within 14 days then you could receive a maximum fine of £1,000.
The Alarm Notification Order took effect on midnight on Sunday 26 November 2006 and keyholders had to be registered by 24 December 2006.
The council were hoping 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. The responsibility for maintaining a keyholder database now passes from the Police to the Council.