Carphone Warehouse is planning to roll out a managed service for store security alarms after a successful trial.

The service, provided by SSS Managed Services, gives stores an audio link to an alarm-receiving centre when a personal-attack alarm is raised. Staff at the centre check that it is not a false alarm and record the incident in case further details are needed.

Independent verification that an alarm is genuine is important, because the police have introduced a policy on personal alarms whereby response is withdrawn after two false activations within a rolling 12-month period.

Carphone Warehouse head of security Philip Mead said: “The telephone line and monitoring system has proved a real success in terms of reduced false alarms. They are simply not an issue for us now and it means that, if we were confronted with a genuine incident, we could demonstrate this to the police and retain our officer cover at that store.”

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