Imagine a burglar alarm that can be accessed from anywhere in the world - without a phone line, programmed to dial emergency numbers and even ring up the next-door-neighbour if there’s a break-in. If this sounds like science fiction then  you need to meet Oakpark, the Costas’ state-of-the-art security company. Brian Fitzgibbon investigates.

Oakpark have been in the domestic security business for some 20 years and, to date, have installed over 6,000 systems in the UK. About three years ago, the company  became involved in a new product called structured cabling. In simple terms, this enables voice, data and video signals to be distributed throughout the home.
As Jeff explained, “Mum could be watching Coronation Street in the kitchen, Dad could be in the lounge enjoying Sky Sports and junior could be upstairs watching the latest video release that is actually playing on the video recorder in the lounge. The product has been so successful that it now accounts for 28% of our turnover and led us to becoming involved in areas other than pure security”.
In the early part of last year, one of Jeff’s security industry friends from the UK retired to Spain but unfortunately he was burgled within two weeks of moving into his villa. Not surprisingly, he looked at improving security and asked Jeff to ship over a system which had only just become available in the UK. This seemed ideally suited to the needs of the ex-pat community in Spain and soon other neighbours looked for the same system to be installed in their properties. It was then that Jeff sensed a business opportunity and he made the decision to expand Oakpark’s operations into the Spanish market.
The control centre is at the heart of the latest technology and Jeff likens this to a set of lego blocks that can be fashioned to suit the client’s requirements. He added “at its simplest, we are talking about a burglar alarm but one which has the capability of being accessed from anywhere in the world by means of a landline or mobile phone. This makes it possible to remotely switch the alarm on or off, to interrogate the system following an activation etc., and even without the property being equipped with a telephone line. In addition, the control centre can be programmed to dial other numbers in the event of alarm activation. From my experience, this is far preferable to a signal being sent to some distant monitoring location. Certainly in the UK, the average response time is such that the burglar can generally make good their escape before the arrival of the security firm or the police. What strikes me as being very different in the case of Spanish urbanisations is the sense of community and that people look out for each other. The control centre can therefore be programmed to dial immediate neighbours and this in effect builds up a neighbourhood watch type of arrangement.”
Another very useful facility is elderly person monitoring. By simply pressing a button that the person wears around their neck or wrist, the alarm is activated, a pre-programmed number is automatically dialled and two-way communication can be set up between the person who activated the alarm and the person taking the call. The push button also has an inactivity monitoring feature and this will raise the alarm if the person has been immobile for a certain length of time.

For working parents with children still at school, the Oakpark system can be programmed to make a telephone call once the children arrive home and deactivate the alarm. Again, two way communication can be opened-up if necessary. Alternatively, a pre-recorded message can be left for the children and this will be replayed once they enter their special code into the control centre.

You may have read about houses where the heating can be switched on whilst you are sitting in the office.  An American idea, home automation enables the activation of any electrical device in the home, except a cooker. This can be done on a timed basis or can be carried-out remotely from a computer or a mobile phone. Lights can be switched on and off, the radio or television turned on or off, etc. Therefore, if the owner is away, the impression can be created that the property is being lived in. As the system uses the mains wiring to transmit the signals, no costly rewiring is necessary.
Oakpark can also install CCTV systems. This is the very latest development  in home security and enables the home owner to remotely view images of their property via computer or mobile telephone. These images can be ‘live’ or recorded and can also be downloaded and stored at a remote location.