Police have issued guidance on what neighbours can do when a burglar alarm keeps going off, clarifying when they will and will not respond to such incidents. The advice follows a query posted on the official 'ask the police' website, which is run by forces across the UK.
A resident asked: "A house/business burglar alarm is going off, what can I do?"
When Police Will Attend
In response, the police stated: "The police will only attend alarms installed in line with the National Police Chiefs' Council's (NPCC) Security Systems Policy. The majority of domestic alarms do not comply with that policy by virtue of the fact they are audible only systems."
The police added that they will respond to domestic alarms "when there is some evidence of criminal activity. Should there be an activation and there is evidence of criminal activity or you see something suspicious, please dial 999."
The police also advised: "It is not advisable to put yourself in danger by making checks yourself."
Contact the Council About Persistent Noise
While police will not respond to domestic alarms without evidence of criminal activity, they urged residents to contact their local council if they are persistently disturbed by burglar alarms. The police said: "If false activations are a persistent problem, contact the local council."
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs noted that councils can issue two types of notices to deal with noise from intruder alarms. A warning notice can be issued for noise between 11pm and 7am, or an abatement notice, which requires the noise to stop.
Rules in Alarm Notification Areas
Rules differ in alarm notification areas, where owners or occupiers with an alarm must give the council details of a key holder who can enter the property to turn off the alarm. If an owner does not supply key holder details and an alarm sounds, the council can issue a fixed penalty notice.
In these areas, if an alarm is sounding and the council cannot reach a key holder, they may enter the property without force to silence it, provided they have taken reasonable steps to contact the key holder and the noise has been continuous for 20 minutes or intermittent for one hour. The noise must also be significant enough to likely cause annoyance to people nearby. To enter a property using force to silence an alarm, the council would need a warrant.
