Author Archive: PFS Team

Neighbourhood Watch Survey

Neighbourhood Watch Crime & Community Survey

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A survey, conducted by Neighbourhood Watch and SimpliSafe Home Security, has revealed the extent of the public’s concerns about their security.

The survey, which took place from October –  November 2023 and collected almost 29,000 responses across England and Wales, shows a majority of people believe crime levels in their area have either increased or remained stable. Only 2% of those polled believe crime has decreased in their area.

The results also show that a home burglary is the second most common crime people worry about, with criminal damage to their property coming in seventh.

Perhaps the most worrying statistic is that 37% of people have been a victim of, or witnessed, a crime in the previous 12 months. Regionally, this was highest in Greater London, the North East, and West Midlands; and lowest in the South West, East of England, and the South East.

Some other findings include:

  • 27% of those surveyed lacked a feeling of safety, with 4% of those feeling “very unsafe”
  • Antisocial behaviour, burglary, and cybercrime, are the three crimes people are most worried about
  • Over half of under 44’s said they had experienced a crime, compared to just over a quarter of over 65’s
  • 46% of those who had experienced a crime either didn’t report it to the police, or stopped before completing the report.
  • The most common reason for this was the feeling that nothing would be done

Thankfully there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of crime to you or your property. Visual deterrents such as intruder alarm bellboxes, CCTV cameras and security lighting can make your property less appealing to criminals. Good security practices such as locking windows and doors when you go out, or not leaving valuables on show, will also help reduce the likelihood of a break in.

Another worthwhile step is joining a community-based group such as Neighbourhood Watch. With a burglary taking place in the UK approximately every 106 seconds, prevention is a key focus. You can find out how to join, as well as the benefits membership provides, HERE

Should you wish to discuss any aspect of your home or business security with one of our team of experts, or to book in a free, no-obligation survey at your property, get in touch with PFS via our contact form HERE

The full Crime and Community survey can be found HERE

Benefits Of Intruder Alarm Servicing

The Benefits Of Intruder Alarm Servicing

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Contrary to popular belief, there is more to securing your home than simply having an intruder alarm system installed. Keeping your alarm system maintained with regular servicing is essential to ensure it is operating effectively and providing the necessary level of protection.

But how often should you have your intruder alarm serviced? For bells only alarms, annual servicing is recommended. However, monitored alarm systems should be serviced every six months. The servicing must be carried out by a qualified professional that is verified by a third party body, such as the National Security Inspectorate (NSI).

The importance of alarm servicing cannot be overstated. Intruder alarm systems comprise of many complex elements so these need to be checked and, if necessary, replaced or upgraded. Keeping a regular intruder alarm servicing schedule ensures everything is functioning correctly and will prevent faults from developing before it is too late.

In this article, we list some of the benefits of regularly servicing your alarm system:

Keep Your Property Protected

Intruder alarm systems are one of the best ways to deter break-ins at your home or business. However, even properties with intruder alarms suffer from criminals breaking and entering, so if your alarm fails to detect an intruder, or fails to sound, then its effectiveness is nullified. Regular servicing and maintenance will prevent the likelihood of this happening and keep your property protected.

Prevent Future Faults

Prevention is always better than the cure. During a service, professional engineers will inspect and test the components of your alarm system, identifying any potential issues and correcting them before they become a larger problem. Some new systems have the ability to do remote servicing, meaning only 1 visit per year by an engineer and 3 services conducted remotely – a more frequent checking of your alarm system.

Insurance Benefits

Some insurance providers specify that you must have an intruder alarm system protecting your property, especially if it’s a business. Some will even offer discounted premiums for customers with an alarm system installed. Regular alarm servicing can be a requirement of these policies. This is to ensure your system is working to the correct standard, avoiding any potential problems in the event of a claim.

Extend Your Alarm’s Effectiveness

By having your alarm system regularly maintained, you reduce the possibility of time-consuming and costly repairs. Keeping on top of minor issues with a servicing plan will extend the lifespan of your alarm, saving you the cost of a replacement system.

Provide Peace Of Mind

Knowing your intruder alarm has been serviced by a qualified engineer, you can enjoy peace of mind that your system is working effectively and your property is secured. And with a regular servicing plan, you will be reminded when your next service is due so you never have to worry about your system falling into disrepair.

Whether for your home or business, you can relax knowing that a regularly-serviced alarm system is securing your property and keeping you safe.

To discuss maintenance and servicing for your intruder alarm system, contact PFS and speak to one of our experts today. Our NSI Gold accreditation ensures that we work to the highest levels of service and competence.

BT Redcare To Close

BT Redcare To Close

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BT announced last week that its Redcare operations will cease next year, after over 30 years in business.

On the BT Redcare website, they state that they have “made the difficult decision to close all BT Redcare operations on 1 August 2025”. The company appreciates this will not be welcome news, so are giving as much notice as they possibly can.

A BT spokesman said, “As part of our strategy to simplify our business portfolio and focus on delivering core products and services for our customers, we have decided to close our Redcare business in 2025.

“We have informed all our Redcare customers, to give them enough advance notice to find alternative suppliers – and we will be supporting them during this process.”

We wish to reassure all PFS customers using Redcare products, that we are formulating a plan to transfer their connections to an alternative product and will be here to assist them throughout the transition.

This will essentially fall in line with our Critical Upgrade Programme, where BT will be shutting off the public switched telephone network (PSTN), also in 2025.

Keep Your Home Safe This Winter

Keep Your Home Safe This Winter

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As the dark evenings draw in it’s more important than ever to ensure your home is safe and secure from intruders looking to take advantage of unoccupied properties. Follow our top tips to help protect your home this winter:

  • Always set your alarm system when leaving home, and make sure to keep it serviced (annually, or twice-annually for monitored systems)
  • Close curtains as soon as it gets dark to conceal valuables inside
  • Invest in security lighting to deter burglars
  • Never leave spare keys outside or hidden nearby. Instead, give them to a trusted neighbour, friend or relative
  • Double check all doors and windows are locked before leaving the house. Don’t leave keys in the locks where they could be fished out
  • Avoid posting holiday plans on social media. Opportunistic thieves use this info to target empty homes
  • Install locked gates and high fences/walls to restrict access to the back and sides of your property
  • Use timer switches on your lights to make it look like someone’s home even when the house is empty
  • Keep Christmas presents and other high-value items out of sight of windows to avoid tempting thieves

Following basic security best practices will help minimise the risk of a break-in this winter. To discuss your home security in further detail, contact PFS today.

Swindon Food Collective

PFS Supports Swindon Food Collective

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The Swindon Food Collective is an independent charity that helps people in Swindon, and the surrounding area, who are suffering from financial hardship and finding it hard to provide food for themselves, their families, or their dependents.

With eight distribution centres around Swindon, they feed nearly 7,500 people per year, one third of whom are children.

To help support this incredible initiative, PFS are pleased to provide them with a monthly donation.

To read more about the vital work that they do, or to find out how to donate food or funds, visit:

https://www.swindonfoodcollective.org/

PFS Supports TreeSisters

PFS Supports TreeSisters

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The last 12 months have been busy on our quest to reduce our carbon footprint.

The drive to become a paperless organisation took a huge step forward with the introduction of e-dockets and improved engineer handheld devices. Our energy-efficient new offices saw the installation of four electric vehicle charging points as our EV fleet grows.

To help offset the remaining fossil fuel vehicles, we are excited to announce we will be donating monthly to TreeSisters – a UK charity that raises and channels funding into tropical reforestation and protection. So far, they have planted 25 million trees across 12 locations in Brazil, Borneo, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar, Nepal and West Papua.

To read more about the work they do, click the link below:

https://treesisters.org/

Critical Upgrade Programme

Critical Upgrade Programme

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BT is currently replacing its entire copper telephone network with fibre.

As many of our customers’ security systems rely on the existing network, BT’s programme of works will prevent the systems’ alarm signals from reaching the central station. PFS have therefore introduced a Critical Upgrade Programme that will facilitate the upgrade of our customers’ alarm signalling to either a wireless dual radio product or an IP solution.

Working in conjunction with CSL DualCom, a highly reputable UK signalling provider that provides a cost-effective GPRS and IP solution, PFS has formed a dedicated engineering and back-office team to help deliver the required communication unit before it is too late. With vast numbers of end users affected, and timely constraints imposed, PFS will do its best to fulfill the demand on time.

This critical upgrade will take place automatically on your next maintenance visit. Please inform your insurance company that your current system is being replaced. Should the replacement of the current communicator not be possible due to site-specific reasons, our engineer will discuss further options with you.

Click For More Information

Critical Upgrade FAQ

FAQs

Higher Level Of Security
All telephone lines are being closed down now as part of the UK’s All IP project that will see a complete shutdown by 2025. CSL’s dual radio products use 4G technology to overcome this threat, whilst monitoring your system 24/7 and the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) will be notified of any fault within 24 hours.

Save On Line Rental Charges
If you have a dedicated telephone line, solely in place for your current system, this can be cancelled after the upgrade has taken place.

Remote Servicing
Should your alarm panel be compatible, our engineer will make the necessary programming alterations to enable secure remote servicing. This will allow us to increase the frequency of your services. Typically, this will be quarterly – to include 3 remote services and 1 site service per annum.

Rural Crime

Rural Crime

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Despite a decrease in recent years, rural crime was once again on the rise last year.

Farm vehicles and machinery, fuel, and even livestock, are all targets for thieves – crimes that cost tens of millions every year.

PFS Security Systems Ltd can help protect your property. From our CCTV and intruder alarm systems, to our access control and gate automation solutions, we can help protect Wiltshire this winter.

Tel: 01793 642 792
Email: sales@pfssecurity.co.uk

PFS Winter Security Tips

Winter Security Tips

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Following reports of several local break-ins this past week, we thought now would be a good time to repost our tips for keeping your premises secure over the winter period:

  • Make sure all doors and windows are closed and locked securely when you go out, as these are the main entry points for burglars. Remember to take keys out of the lock afterwards so there’s no way of anyone getting to them.
  • Avoid posting on social media about going away over Christmas. People can use this information to find out when your home will be unoccupied.
  • Never leave spare keys outside your home, even if you think they are well hidden. Always leave them with a trusted neighbour, relative or friend.
  • Draw your curtains early now the afternoons are getting darker – you never know who might be looking in to see what valuables you have.
  • Keep expensive items out of sight. Don’t leave wrapped Christmas gifts where they are visible to passers by, and make sure to not leave mobile phones, laptops etc near windows where they can be seen.
  • Consider using timers on your lights when you’re out. Lights turning on and off give the impression that someone is home.
  • Visible burglar alarms and good security lights are very useful for deterring would-be thieves. Dummy alarm systems may seem more economical, but experienced burglars will know the difference between a high-quality alarm system and a fake.
  • Make sure your alarm system is always set before you leave home, and don’t forget to ensure it is serviced annually (or twice annually if it’s a monitored alarm).
  • Prevent easy access to the back and sides of your property by installing locked gates and, if possible, high fencing or walls.
  • Sign up to your local Neighbourhood Watch. You can find your local scheme at the following link: https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/get-involved/find-my-local-scheme

If you would like to discuss your home security in more detail, contact us today:

Tel: 01793 642 792
Email: sales@pfssecurity.co.uk