News - Neil helps drive the BS 8418 standard

The BS8418 standard was introduced in 2003 to improve the quality and reliability of detection monitored CCTV.

Six years on, the standard is being reviewed and Neil Jackson, director of CCTV and Access Control at GB Security Group, is one of the industry experts on the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) PR panel, responsible for driving the standards forward.

Amendments are due out shortly and according to Neil, who was also involved in commenting on the original guidelines for the legislation, it’s likely to remain broadly similar.

It means that companies must be approved to install and monitor monitored systems with a Level One Police response. The mains system must also be installed to a higher standard, with fall-back communications and fall-back power supply, to ensure the system can’t go down.

Neil’s involvement with the BSIA also includes looking at how to push this standard of monitored system to become the first line of defence for company security.

“It has huge advantages,” he explained. “Everyone needs their intruder alarms and other controls which draw in post-event responses as a line of defence, but with monitoring there is a confirmed external detection system which can prevent intruders getting in at all.”

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