Until recently….
….communications between Alarm Receiving Centres (ARCs) and police control rooms have taken place over analogue telephone lines. Now, thanks to ECHO, alarm signals will be sent digitally. But what is ECHO?
A not-for profit, industry-backed body, ECHO (Electronic Call Handling Operations) Ltd is an alarm transfer service provider that connects ARCs directly to the appropriate police force, in line with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) SSG requirements for Intruder and Hold Up alarms.
It aims to speed up police response times by between one and four minutes, by automating the communication pathway, permitting emergency responders to react to verified alarms faster, and more efficiently, compared to traditional call handler services.
Other benefits will include:
Improved Accuracy: Sometimes, under high pressure, mistakes being made when recording incident information. ECHO eliminates the risk of human error in these situations.
Time-Saving: ECHO will deliver a police incident number to the ARC in seconds, saving time for all parties.
Detailed Information: ECHO has plans to include keyholder details into the alarms transmission process.
Future Updates: Other valuable information about an alarm incident may become part of the alarms transmission process in future.
The rollout of ECHO commenced in September 2021, with the Metropolitan Police and Essex Police being the first forces to adopt the service. Since then, the following police services have become ECHO-connected:
- Avon & Somerset Constabulary
- Bedfordshire Police
- Cambridgeshire Constabulary
- City of London Police
- Devon & Cornwall Police
- Greater Manchester Police
- Hertfordshire Constabulary
- Kent Police
- Northamptonshire Police
- Northumbria Police
- North Yorkshire Police
- Dorset Police
- Durham Constabulary
- Gwent Police
- Lancashire Police
- Leicestershire Police
- Merseyside Police
- Surrey Police
- Sussex Police
In light of this, each URN linked to any of the above police authorities will incur a small nominal annual fee, which customers will see on their invoices. This is, unfortunately, out of our hands but we assure our customers this will be of benefit in case of an emergency requiring police response. Thank you for your understanding.
Note: As many of our customers are based in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, CIA has contacted these police forces to enquire when they will be introducing ECHO, but this information is not known at present.
Until recently, communications between Alarm Receiving Centres (ARCs) and police control rooms have taken place over analogue telephone lines. Now, thanks to ECHO, alarm signals will be sent digitally. But what is ECHO?
A not-for profit, industry-backed body, ECHO (Electronic Call Handling Operations) Ltd is an alarm transfer service provider that connects ARCs directly to the appropriate police force, in line with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) SSG requirements for Intruder and Hold Up alarms.
It aims to speed up police response times by between one and four minutes, by automating the communication pathway, permitting emergency responders to react to verified alarms faster, and more efficiently, compared to traditional call handler services.
Other benefits will include:
Improved Accuracy: Sometimes, under high pressure, mistakes being made when recording incident information. ECHO eliminates the risk of human error in these situations.
Time-Saving: ECHO will deliver a police incident number to the ARC in seconds, saving time for all parties.
Detailed Information: ECHO has plans to include keyholder details into the alarms transmission process.
Future Updates: Other valuable information about an alarm incident may become part of the alarms transmission process in future.
The rollout of ECHO commenced in September 2021, with the Metropolitan Police and Essex Police being the first forces to adopt the service. Since then, the following police services have become ECHO-connected:
- Avon & Somerset Constabulary
- Bedfordshire Police
- Cambridgeshire Constabulary
- City of London Police
- Devon & Cornwall Police
- Greater Manchester Police
- Hertfordshire Constabulary
- Kent Police
- Northamptonshire Police
- Northumbria Police
- North Yorkshire Police
- Dorset Police
- Durham Constabulary
- Gwent Police
- Lancashire Police
- Leicestershire Police
- Merseyside Police
- Surrey Police
- Sussex Police
In light of this, each URN linked to any of the above police authorities will incur a small nominal annual fee, which customers will see on their invoices. This is, unfortunately, out of our hands but we assure our customers this will be of benefit in case of an emergency requiring police response. Thank you for your understanding.
Note: As many of our customers are based in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, CIA has contacted these police forces to enquire when they will be introducing ECHO, but this information is not known at present.