Bias to big firms

As a self employed installer for 25 years I have become more and more disillusioned with the direction the business would appear to be going in. Whilst realising that relevant standards are beneficial as references to work with, the bias is always towards the larger firms who are usually involved with more complex installations than the average bungalow and who can fairly easily absorb most of the extra paperwork.

However, in reality, there is much needed demand for domestic security which the big nationals can never reach. The amount of red tape and regulation is way over the top for the type of business I operate and the attitude of the police quite frankly is a disgrace. They will not now issue URNs to non-compliant firms.

I cannot think of one small installer in this area who would be satisfied with a high false alarm rate. We actually try harder as we trade on recommendation, a concept not understood by those in authority. It is about time the alternative view was aired and the writer's firm must be the first to recognise the huge latent demand for straightforward self monitored security which can be extended to cover other home features. It is now clear that the police do not have the resources to attend to household burglary and this role will have to be carried out by private firms.