It is 2:47am. Your phone lights up: the intruder alarm at your warehouse, office or shop has gone off. Is it a break-in, a spider on a sensor, or a door that wasn’t shut properly? And more importantly, who is actually going to go and look?
For many business owners across Greater Manchester, the honest answer is “me”, or a manager who lives twenty minutes away and has to get out of bed, drive to site and walk into a dark building alone. This guide explains what really happens when a business alarm activates in Greater Manchester, when the police will and won’t attend, and how a professional keyholding and alarm response service fills the gap.
Will the police respond to my business alarm?
It depends on the type of alarm you have. Police forces in England and Wales, including Greater Manchester Police, follow the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) security systems policy, which splits alarms into two broad types.
Monitored alarms with a police URN (Type A)
A remotely monitored alarm, fitted by a police-recognised installer and connected to an approved Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC), can be registered with the police and given a Unique Reference Number (URN). When it activates, the monitoring centre checks the signal and, where the policy allows, passes it to the police using that URN. Newer systems generally need to provide confirmed activations (for example, more than one sensor triggering) before police will be asked to attend.
Audible-only alarms (Type B)
A “bells-only” alarm that simply sounds a siren has no URN. Police will normally only attend if someone at the scene reports evidence that a crime is in progress or has taken place, such as a smashed window or a person seen on the premises. In practice, if your siren goes off in the middle of the night on a quiet industrial estate in Oldham or Trafford, there may be nobody there to make that call.
The false alarm rule most businesses don’t know about
Even with a monitored, URN-registered system, police response is not guaranteed for ever. Under the NPCC policy, if a system produces three false alarm calls within a rolling 12-month period, police response can be withdrawn. From then on, the only response to an activation is a keyholder. Response can be reinstated, but only once the cause has been found and put right.
Common causes of false alarms on commercial sites include:
- Staff setting the alarm before everyone has left, or entering the wrong code
- Doors and windows not fully closed or locked at lock-up
- Faulty or poorly positioned sensors, and systems that are overdue a service
- Animals, insects, heating, or stock and signage moving in air currents
- Power cuts and low back-up batteries
This is why every business alarm needs a reliable keyholder, whatever type of system is fitted.
What does a keyholder actually do?
A keyholder is the person or company called to attend when your alarm activates. They need to be able to get to site, gain access, check the premises and reset the system. When the keyholder is an employee, that usually means:
- Being woken at any hour, including weekends and bank holidays
- Driving to site, often alone and at night
- Walking into a building that may have been broken into
- Waiting for glaziers or boarding contractors if there is damage
- Losing sleep and being tired at work the next day
It also raises a duty-of-care question for employers. Sending a member of staff alone into a possible break-in is a risk many businesses would rather not take.
How professional alarm response works in Greater Manchester
With a professional keyholding service, your keys are held securely by a security company, and its SIA-licensed officers are listed as your keyholders. When your alarm activates, here is what typically happens:
- The alert is received. Your monitoring centre, or your own alarm notification, contacts the security company’s control room.
- A response officer is dispatched. A trained, SIA-licensed officer drives to your site in a marked vehicle.
- The perimeter is checked first. The officer looks for signs of forced entry before going inside.
- The premises are checked inside. If there is evidence of a break-in, the police are called with first-hand information from the scene, which gives the call a far better chance of a response.
- The system is reset and the site secured. The officer resets the alarm, locks up and, where needed, stays on site until emergency repairs or boarding are arranged.
- You receive a report. A record of the visit, with times and findings, is sent to you, so you know exactly what happened without leaving your bed.
Who needs alarm response and keyholding?
Alarm response suits any business or property owner that wants peace of mind outside working hours, including:
- Warehouses, factories and logistics sites on industrial estates around Oldham, Rochdale, Trafford Park and Stockport
- Offices and retail units that are empty overnight and at weekends
- Schools, colleges and community buildings during holidays
- Property managers and landlords with multiple sites, or with vacant properties between tenants
- Businesses whose police response has been withdrawn after false alarms
Alarm response, keyholding and mobile patrols: what is the difference?
- Keyholding means a security company holds your keys and is your named keyholder.
- Alarm response means an officer attends when your alarm activates.
- Mobile patrols are scheduled visits to your site whether or not the alarm sounds, to deter intruders and spot problems early.
- Lock and unlock services mean an officer opens or secures your premises at set times, so staff don’t have to.
Many businesses combine keyholding and alarm response with a few patrol visits a week, especially over long holiday shutdowns such as Christmas.
Five steps to reduce false alarms and protect your police response
- Get your alarm serviced regularly by an approved installer, and fix faults straight away.
- Train everyone who sets the alarm, and keep a simple lock-up checklist by the panel.
- Keep your keyholder details up to date with your monitoring centre and installer.
- Check what changed after every false alarm, whether that’s new stock, a moved display or a faulty door contact.
- Use a professional keyholder, so every activation is checked properly and you have a written record of what was found.
Keyholding and alarm response across Greater Manchester
Clear Watch Security is an SIA Approved Contractor based in Oldham, providing keyholding and alarm response to businesses across Greater Manchester, including Rochdale, Stockport, Trafford, Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Tameside and Wigan. Our SIA-licensed response officers attend 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and every visit is recorded and reported back to you.
If you are tired of being the one who gets the 3am call, or your police response has been withdrawn after false alarms, we can help.
Get a free quote for keyholding and alarm response, or call us on 0161 628 9169.
Frequently asked questions
Do the police still respond to burglar alarms in Greater Manchester?
Police may respond to monitored alarms that have a valid police URN and meet the national policy. Audible-only alarms usually only get a police response if someone reports evidence of a crime. A keyholder is still needed in both cases.
What happens if I have too many false alarms?
Under the national policy, three false alarm calls in a rolling 12-month period can lead to police response being withdrawn. A keyholder then becomes the only response until the cause is fixed and response is reinstated.
Is it safe for my staff to respond to alarms?
Sending an employee alone to a possible break-in at night carries real risk. A professional alarm response service uses trained, SIA-licensed officers, so your staff don’t have to.
How are my keys kept secure?
A reputable keyholding company stores keys securely and keeps them coded, so they can’t be linked to your address if lost, with strict controls over who can sign them out.