OPTEX detectors are at the heart of The Community Safety House (Centre of Excellence for Crime Prevention) used by the West Midlands Crime Prevention Design Advisors to demonstrate the benefits of security systems to local businesses, schools and local authorities.
In partnership with Cougar Monitoring, Vicon and local installers, a ‘typical’ security system comprising cameras and detectors linked to a remote video response centre (RVRC) has been installed at Brownhills Community Safety House to promote the concept and benefits of remotely monitored CCTV.
It is also providing awareness training for Crime Prevention Design Advisors and Crime Reduction Officers from other Police forces as this the only centre of its kind in the UK.
The team comprising 10 Crime Prevention Design Advisors provide training, support and advice to the general public, businesses, partner agencies etc. that includes a two-hour crime prevention discussion and a tour of the house.
Martin Dews, Business Development Officer at Cougar Monitoring has been involved from the outset and in conjunction with OPTEX has provided BS8418 awareness training for all the West Midlands CLOs and ALOs to enable them to promote remote monitoring: “I have worked as an installer for many years and so have contacts in most areas of the sector,” he says. “When I was asked what technology would be best to install to demonstrate the advantages of remote monitored CCTV, I had no hesitation in recommending OPTEX as I have been using them for years.”
The system that Martin and a team from the Security Design Centre have installed includes a number of OPTEX REDWALL very high performance external detectors and a VX402Rec with one of the highest detection rates and lowest false alarm rates in the industry.
PC Darren Robbins says the feedback from those visiting the safety house has been very positive: “More than 3,000 people a year visit the centre and all have found the advice and displays very useful,” he says. “A number of schools in the area have suffered from vandalism and already use CCTV systems but they do not tend to be monitored. We are trying to show how with some minor adjustments the retrospective CCTV can become proactive and actually prevent break-ins or acts of vandalism.”
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