Editorial

With behind-the-scenes decisions still being made, some manufacturers are saying they cannot, in all honesty, release new Euro compliant panels. Other manufacturers proudly brand them as compliant. So what is the average installer to make of all this? And how much confidence does it inspire in the industry’s decision making processes? Inevitably, the grumbles of frustration from installation companies have been tempered with the acceptance that it was ever thus ....

We had the same attitudes when the ACPO Policy and DD243 were introduced. It was a case of “There it is ... get on with it”. There was the feeling that installers’ opinions had been ignored in the process. Still, installers are a stoical bunch generally and with the decisions having been made by ACPO, it was a case of knuckling down to confirmation systems. A few years on, and many initially sceptical installers have accepted that it has worked. False alarms have dropped significantly – although figures are still far too high to satisfy the police.

I suspect that a few years on installers will be wondering what all the fuss was about. The fears about risk analysis will no doubt recede as it becomes apparent that insurance companies will be unwilling to let installers make too many crucial decisions – especially over valuable properties. But this lead up can be a difficult time, especially when manufacturers are doing different things. It is crucial for installers to keep reading our branded “Deadline 1/10” articles, head for our free Security Roadshow advice sessions (see page 8) and also make a regular trawl of the Internet (see our feature on page 53). And manufacturers/organisations ... if you think your website is providing useful information for our readers and we haven’t highlighted it in our feature, then let us know and we’ll pass it on.

Finally, just before we go to press , we hear that another sponsor has come on board for the Security Excellence Awards 2005. Intrepid Security Solutions have, once again, agreed to put their name against these prestigious awards. Intrepid, provider of integrated loss prevention solutions for retail and non-retail end users, swells our sponsorship to eight companies and organisations, all keen to support the aim of encouraging professional excellence in the industry. And, of course, despite the serious purpose of encouraging excellence, the event is also a great fun night out in London. So polish up your Latin dance steps and fly down to Rio with us (well Park Lane anyway) on October 4. (See page 33).

Alan Hyder, editor