Our in-house ARC: What’s the big deal?

What is an ARC?

ARC stands for alarm receiving centre. It’s a dedicated facility which monitors your alarms and CCTV feeds.

When an alarm is triggered, a trained operative immediately assesses the cause and responds appropriately. No matter the time of day or night, whether it’s a real intruder or a system fault, professional security staff are always watching.

Why are ARCs necessary?

If you’ve been woken at 3am by an alarm signal, then driven miles to discover it was caused by a waving tree branch, we’re about to point out the obvious.

You get a good night’s sleep. If the alarm is false, ARC personnel will leave you to slumber in peace.

But what if the alarm is genuine? You only have to walk down a high street at night to realise that alarms are mostly ignored. People assume they’ve gone off accidentally. They’re unsure what to do, or they think someone else will deal with it.

When the alarm is connected to an ARC, professional responders always deal with it. And, if it’s a genuine emergency, they know exactly what to do…

… which brings us to the first reason why an in-house ARC is a big deal.

Faster response

When there’s a security issue, in-house ARCs have an uninterrupted connection to the solution because they work directly with their own security teams.

The process is fast and highly efficient. Rather than passing the incident between different suppliers, waiting for an outside team to become available, ARC personnel can send their mobile security patrol straight there.

Greater accountability

When you employ a security company with an in-house ARC, you get a clear audit trail and greater accountability. From the moment the alarm is triggered through to resolution, you’ll know exactly how the incident was managed.

Let’s imagine that there’s a suspected security breach at your property. An intruder alarm signal has been received at the monitoring centre. It appears to be genuine, so responders have given the details to a mobile patrol and dispatched them to the site.

Here’s what typically happens:

• The mobile officers acknowledge the call. They provide an ETA and updates.
• On arrival, officers investigate the site and communicate their findings to the ARC — e.g. signs of forced entry or an insecure door.
• The ARC coordinates the response according to agreed protocols, e.g. securing the site, contacting keyholders, calling in additional security or the emergency services.

Throughout the incident, the mobile patrol maintains operational contact with the ARC which, in turn, coordinates the next action.

You don’t have to piece together information from different suppliers. You can clearly see what happened, when it happened, who responded and every decision that was taken.

More control and flexibility

With an in-house ARC, you’re not simply buying alarm monitoring. You’re getting an entire security operation, built and managed on demand.

You’re in control. When it comes to response procedures, you decide who should be contacted, when a mobile patrol should attend and when an incident should be escalated. If you have multiple properties, the response can vary from site to site according to the risks.

Also, it’s easy to change things — access arrangements, keyholders, operating hours and so on. There’s no need to coordinate changes across multiple companies because everything is managed in one place.

Better knowledge

With an integrated ARC and security operation, both parties know the lay of the land. They’re familiar with your site layout, its access arrangements, risks and vulnerabilities, keyholders and the personalised response protocols.

When they arrive, regular patrol officers know what’s normal for your site. It’s easier to identify something which is unusual. They’re aware of recurring issues in your area — break-ins, antisocial behaviour, thefts, vandalism — and the particular times at which these tend to occur.

The team on the ground feeds the information back to the ARC and, over time, patterns emerge — risks which aren’t obvious from alarm data alone. As a result, your wider security strategy can be strengthened.

Confidentiality

Security information is a valuable asset. It reveals a detailed picture of how your premises operate, the site’s layout, alarm zones and potential vulnerabilities.

Protecting this data is a crucial element of protecting the property itself. When ARC monitoring is kept within a security company’s controlled environment, there’s no third-party involvement. Even within the security company, there are strict controls over who can access sensitive security data.

Why take the risk of fragmenting this across different suppliers? Monitoring, response, robust data protection and the wider security strategy should be handled in one place.

At CSG, our in-house ARC is NSI Gold Category 1. This is the highest possible benchmark for ARC monitoring services, and a reassuring guarantee that we meet the most rigorous standards available in the UK.

Get in touch if you’d like to find out more.