John Camilleri (fictional name) was abroad on holiday when he received a phone call from his neighbour telling him that his house’s alarm went off. Yet he couldn’t do anything about it as he had no one who could go and check. Luckily, upon his return, everything was fine but he had spent half his holiday worrying. Had his alarm system been remotely monitored, he would have been able to confirm there and then and put his mind at rest.

“There are many circumstances when a monitored alarm system can avoid people a lot of unnecessary worry,” says Eder Catania from G4S Security Malta. “However, there are still people who invest a lot of money on alarms for their homes, garage, shop or business, and yet these system lack the most important feature: monitoring.”

Over the years, domestic thefts in the EU have gone up by 14 per cent. Recent studies have also shown that in Europe, about 80 per cent of intruder alarm systems are not remotely monitored. In Malta, the situation is no better and few systems are made more effective with remote monitoring features.

“When you have an alarm system that is monitored, this means that wherever you are and whatever time it is, if your alarm goes off, we can tell you what happened and take immediate action. Many times, alarms go off for no apparent reason, but if someone does break into your house or shop, you need immediate response taken. This is where we come in.”

Catania gives a number of examples why it is convenient to have an alarm system that is monitored.

“Your camera could be off or damaged or one of the cables could have come unstuck, in which case the alarm will go off. If your alarm goes off and someone is indeed inside your home or your shop, who is going to advise you? An alarm system that is not monitored is not going to lead to immediate action. If you get to know that your alarm went off and you are not available, are you going to be in the right frame of mind to drive as fast as you can and get there safely? And if you get to the site and there is indeed an intruder, do you know how to take action without endangering yourself? When your alarm system is monitored by us, you will get notified immediately whether the alarm is real or false. If there has been intrusion, we send our own trained people to tackle the situation for you.”

G4S operates a monitoring centre equipped with the best monitoring technology and run by professionally-trained personnel from G4S on a 24/7 basis. From here, G4S monitor alarms and networks in private properties such as homes, offices, factories and buildings. In case of alarm, a signal is sent and immediate action is taken.

The remote monitoring service is important especially for situations that happen beyond normal hours as this allows for the analysing and determining of the cause for alarm, before effectively sending a patrol and contacting the authorities.

“Imagine you are at a family wedding. You suddenly get a phone call from a neighbour telling you that your house alarm is ringing. Will you be in the right frame of mind to go and check? If your system is monitored, we call you from the monitoring centre to let you know that we are checking for you. Like that you can keep enjoying your wedding,” adds Catania.

With G4S’s remote monitoring, you will know that in case of an alarm signal, wherever you are and whatever time it is, there are professionals who will immediately go on site, check and keep you updated with the situation thus securing your peace of mind.

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