Reliance High-Tech’s ARC connects to ECHO for response time savings

ECHO is funded by the private sector. In line with National Police Chiefs’ Council requirements for intruder and hold-up alarms to be delivered electronically to police service Control Rooms, the number of ECHO-connected ARCs multiplied significantly in 2021 and will continue to do so as police forces continue to express interest in the initiative.

In the event of an activation from a monitored installation, Reliance High-Tech’s ARC receives a digital alarm signal transmission direct from the premises. The signal is verified and transmitted directly to the relevant police service via ECHO, negating human intervention and enhancing the potential for rapid intervention by responders at alarmed addresses.

Signals from over 200,000 intruder and hold-up alarm systems registered with the Metropolitan Police Service and Essex Police are now being transmitted via ECHO’s automated signalling service, with estimates indicating a saving of up to four minutes in terms of response times. This could prove critical in an emergency situation by leading to the swift apprehension of offenders, providing greater assurance for home and property owners and even saving lives in critical emergencies where every second counts.

Avon and Somerset is the third police constabulary to announce that it will also be adopting ECHO from 1 April this year.

Creation of BS 8484

Becoming ECHO-connected is just the latest in a long line of accreditations, certifications and state-of-the-art operational standards that render Reliance High-Tech’s ARC one of the leading facilities of its kind in the UK.

In order to ensure the highest levels of quality, performance and service resilience, the company was instrumental in the creation of BS 8484 and one of the first to be accredited when the British Standard was launched in 2009.

The business’ dedicated ARC also has extensive resilience thanks to back-up servers and telecoms infrastructure, uninterruptible power supplies and generators. A secondary back-up ARC site can be operational within minutes if the primary ARC site is rendered inoperable in any way. These facilities are routinely tested.

“ECHO is a significant technological advancement in the handling of intruder and hold-up alarm signals and transfers an alarm signal to a police service Control Room in an instant,” commented Jamie Fretwell, head of monitoring and lone worker operations at Reliance High-Tech.

Fretwell continued: “What’s more, ECHO is at the forefront of initiatives to deter crime and facilitate a faster police response, and is already helping to deliver a better level of Emergency Services provision. We’re proud to have spotted its potential early on and be ECHO-connected. This is something that offers us a clear and tangible commercial and performance benefits, while at the same time ensuring that our customers receive the fastest possible response to any alarm activations at their premises.”