The short answer is NO! Although Verisure is a large multinational company, they are not, however, an NSI or SSAIB certified Intruder alarm installation company in the UK.
This means they cannot apply to the Police for a Police Unique Reference Number (URN), and a ‘Type A’ Level 1 Police response to your property.
Verisure state in their marketing that their ‘Alarm Receiving Centre’ (ARC) is SSAIB Registered. However, this is not the same as Verisure being an NSI or SSAIB certified Intruder Alarm installation company, This distinction is important and can lead to confusion if property owners are not aware of the difference.
This is also critically important if you need an Insurance- compliant Intruder alarm system, and/or maintainer, who can also apply for a Type A Police response to your Intruder Alarm if needed.
Verisure’s ‘Type B’ Police Response
Verisure say they offer what is called a ‘Type B’ Police Response.
They state in their marketing that if their Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) believe there is a burglary in progress, they will call 999, report the burglary to the Police, and ask for a response from them.
However, under National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) regulations, this is not something ARCs are allowed to do, as the request should come from a person at the scene. (see below).
A ‘Type B’ response is not the same as a ‘Type A’ Level 1 Police Response, which is a fully regulated and tracked urgent response provided by means of:
- URN: a URN (Unique Reference Number) which officially registers your property with the Police, including information such as the address and access to keyholder information.
- Direct communication to Police Control Room: A direct link between the ARC and the Police operations centre provides the fastest Police response.
Police guidance on attendance to Type B alarm systems:
The official Police statement, as per the NPCC, regarding responding to Type B alarms is as follows:
There is no guarantee of police response to Type B system activation under these requirements. The processing and response time for Type B systems will be significantly slower than that for Type A systems. Any reports of such activations will be assessed, triaged and graded like any other request for police attendance. The police response, if provided, will depend on the assessment of threat, harm and risk based on the evidence supplied.
Importantly, in relation to ARCs calling the police on 101 or 999, the NPCC state:
‘Type B systems will require evidence from a person at the scene that a criminal offence is in progress which indicates that a police response is required – by dialling 101 or 999 as appropriate, not through a third party or compliant/non-compliant monitoring centre.’
This means that Verisure’s ARC, or indeed any ARC, should not use the 101 or 999 service as a means of claiming to provide a Police response to their customers.
The NPCC further states:
The security systems industry has seen a rise in the use of Type B alarms, which are often sold and purchased with the expectation of prompt police attendance. Whilst we do not wish to remove the option of a rapid response where a crime is in progress, the development and increased use of this technology have created additional demand on policing resources and raised expectations of police attendance beyond what is appropriate.
Clear Sound Fire & Security: NSI Gold Approved Intruder Alarm Installers
Unlike Verisure and many other installers, at Clear Sound Fire & Security, we are NSI Gold-approved installers whose hardware, system design, and physical installations strictly comply with British and European standards (BS 8243 / PD 6662).
This enables us to provide an official NSI certificate of conformity to help validate your property insurance as well as qualifying your business for a Police URN (Unique Reference Number) for direct, high-priority ‘Type A’ emergency response.
Reach out to us for a free quote or call us on 02476 668 366 today.
