Alarm systems equipped with an alarm signal reality verification subsystem.
International Security Review.- 1995 .- The alarms special issue.- P. 27, 28.
Alarm systems equipped with an alarm signal reality verification subsystem
The International Security Review journal reports on alarm systems equipped with an alarm signal reality verification subsystem.
It is known that false alarms usually make up a significant percentage of all alarm signals in alarm systems. A correspondent for the International Security Review looks at ways to address this problem.
False alarms waste the time of security personnel. Not only do they lead to unnecessary financial expenditures, but they also burden security personnel with unnecessary work and deprive the service of the opportunity to provide assistance to the population where it is really needed.
Moreover, a large number of false alarms put security personnel into a state of relaxation, which negatively affects the quality of the service.
As electronic security systems increase in number and complexity, the number of false alarms will increase and the communication networks will be increasingly burdened.
In the US, alarm system users who generate too many false alarms are subject to fines.
In the UK, alarm system users are allowed to have their premises generate no more than three false alarms per year.
If the number of false alarms exceeds three, the facility is disarmed.
Measures are taken to ensure that alarm systems produced by the industry meet the highest standards and are of high quality.
In the USA, alarm system standards are set by the Underwriter's Laboratory. In the UK, alarm systems must meet British Standard 4737 and should preferably be manufactured by a company recognized by the National Approval Council of Security Systems (NACOSS).
Regular maintenance of the alarm system at the proper level prevents it from breaking down.
The best method of getting rid of false alarms is to equip the alarm system with a subsystem for checking the reality of the alarm.
The verification of the reality of the alarm signal is carried out using an access control system, a system of reports on access to the protected object, access control to the protected object using video cameras of the monitoring system for the correctness of the alarm signal (closed-circuit television systems).
All these systems are the best method for verifying the reality of the alarm signal and eliminating false signals.
A typical automated integrated alarm system works as follows.
The protected object is monitored by one or more devices for detecting unwanted intrusion: magnetic door contacts, window vibration detectors, passive IR detectors, which are connected to the central observation point by wires or radio.
The communication lines from all the alarm system sensors converge at the central observation point.
When an intrusion occurs at the protected object, the sensors installed directly on this object detect the fact of intrusion and transmit a signal to the central observation point. At the same time, television cameras are turned on.
The security officer at the observation post directly perceives intrusion signals through audio and visual devices. He turns on the video cameras at the protected facility and sets them in motion in order to directly visually assess the situation at the facility.
These two intrusion signal confirmation processes (video confirmation and audio confirmation), used separately or together, allow the security officer to immediately know that the alarm signal is real and take the necessary actions.
The television camera system is the most widely used method of confirming the reality of an alarm signal. Cameras allow the security officer to directly observe the situation at the protected facility and save him from having to enter into a dangerous confrontation with criminals who have invaded the protected facility.
Audio confirmation (audio listening) also allows for fairly reliable confirmation of the reality of an alarm about an invasion of the protected facility.
Perimeter intrusion detection systems often use fiber optic sensors embedded in the perimeter wall and in the ground around the perimeter of the protected facility.
When the sensors detect human pressure, they automatically trigger an alarm and an audio channel that allows the security officer to directly listen to all sounds occurring within the protected facility.
If necessary, a visual channel is switched on to supplement the audio confirmation channel.
The choice of an audio, visual or combined alarm confirmation system depends on the financial capabilities of the user and his other needs.
Intrusion confirmation systems based on the use of closed-circuit television systems are more expensive, but always provide a more reliable form of confirmation of the signal about an intrusion into the protected facility.
All existing types of alarm systems require the participation of operators who are constantly on duty at the observation point.
Integrated alarm systems allow for the verification of the reality of an alarm signal triggered not only by electronic sensors, but also by people.
An integrated alarm system performs various functions when protecting an object, for example, it controls access via an elevator to various floors and ensures that an alarm signal is triggered if unplanned events occur at the object.
Alarm systems equipped with sound and visual means of confirming the reality of the alarm signal allow you to successfully verify the reality of the alarm signal and exclude any errors.
Such alarm systems can reduce the number of cases requiring police intervention and reduce the cost of protecting the site.
The cost of protecting a site can be reduced in two ways.
1. Companies that use security and alarm systems and have a low level of false alarms pay less for protecting their sites than those companies that have a high level of false alarms.
2. An integrated alarm system allows you to reduce the number of security personnel at the site and pays for the costs of its purchase and installation in about a year. Based on the latest advances in science and technology, increasingly sophisticated alarm and alarm reality verification systems are being developed, which allows you to significantly reduce, and in some cases completely eliminate false alarms.