Sutton, Surrey-based Securicor Communications, part of the Securicor Group Plc and joint owner with British Telecom of Cellnet cellular radio network, yesterday launched the Alarmphone, a security device intended to combat both professional and casual auto crime. If your car is being broken into or tampered with, the Alarmphone will automatically call you at a pre-programmed number and play back a previously recorded message, for example the registration number and location of the vehicle. This message is played back three times and then a microphone in the unit will eavesdrop on the activity within the car. The system can be used with pagers, and alarm calls can also be diverted to Securicor’s 24-hour monitoring service whose bureau will contact a nominated party – for this service, however, there is an additional fee. Apart from private car-owners, the Alarmphone is targeted particularly at delivery services, sales representatives, service engineers – in fact anyone who needs to carry valuables with them. Securicor argues that the traditional car-alarm has little deterrent effect out of earshot, since it is mostly ignored by passers-by, and is completely ineffective in tracing the stolen car or the criminals: Alarmphone, although its deterrent effect is similarly limited, acts as an early warning system enabling the car owner to relay relevant details of the theft to the police. And for the particularly security-minded motorist, it can also be incorporated into existing car-alarms. Alarmphone, which was developed jointly by Securicor with NEC Corp, which manufactures the product, is available exclusively from Securicor Communications and sells for UKP200.
