The Crime Prevention Bureau (CPB) last month paid tribute to Central Alarm Monitoring Stations (CAMS) for continuing to support its efforts to prevent false alarms.

Since its successful implementation of the New Phased Response Scheme in April 2004, the CPB has been awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze Certificates to the top three CAMS in two categories, one with 100 to 500 alarm subscribers and the other with over 500 alarm subscribers.

Following another successful year in preventing false alarms by the CPB, Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Wong Fook-chuen presented Gold, Silver and Bronze Certificates to CAMS operators in each category in appreciation of their continued support and assistance for the CPB's efforts to reduce false alarms and unnecessary deployment of police resources to respond to those alarms.

"CAMS operators' joint efforts have resulted in a steady reduction over the years, and at the end of last year, the ratio of false alarms per installation dropped to 0.65. Considering the fact that the Phased Response Scheme was introduced in 1989 with the aim of achieving one false alarm per installation per year, this is an excellent result," said Mr Wong.

To put the figures in perspective, Mr Wong pointed out that in 1989 there were only 12,024 alarm installations but they produced 47,243 false alarms. At the end of last year there were 27,356 alarm installations but the number of false alarms had dropped to 17,773. This reduction of almost 30,000 false alarms has saved the Force thousands of wasted man hours involving frontline officers responding to alarm activations.

According to Superintendent Mark Medwecki in charge of the CPB, at present there are 27 CAMS being operated by licensed security companies that monitor alarms for a total of 27,356 subscribers ranging from domestic premises to schools, businesses and government facilities. The CAMS provide an essential service in both preventing intruders from breaking into premises and verifying genuine alarms before frontline officers are deployed.

Representatives of the award-winning CAMS with Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Wong Fook-chuen, CPB officers and guests