The BS 8418 standard - formerly known as ‘Detector-activated CCTV’ - has undergone a major re-write.
One key aim of the re-write was to make changes to the technical requirements, to encourage a wider adoption of the standard by installers of these systems.
Long standing criticism of the standard was that some of the security features necessary for sites at higher risk of theft or damage resulted in a BS 8418 system being a very expensive proposition. A good proportion of detector-activated systems - where the risk was assessed to be lower - do not warrant the security features that result in the additional expense.
The revised standard - published in July 2021 - now includes two categories of system, Type A and Type A+.
A type A system sets the base requirements, which are suitable for system designs with a low–medium risk. Meanwhile, a Type A+ system includes additional security features more suitable for a system design with a medium-high risk.
Please note: BS 8418 is the only standard for external CCTV that the Police will issue a URN for.
SSAIB welcome the changes to the standard and hope more of our registered firms consider including this in their scope of registration.
Field operations manager David Roscoe will be giving an update on the significant changes to BS 8418 - and other standards - at SSAIB's Security Systems Forum at HMS Belfast on Wednesday September 22.