Handing a set of keys to a member of staff feels convenient. It is also a serious risk you carry as an employer. Sending an untrained person to a possible break-in — alone, at night, with no idea what they'll find — exposes them to danger and exposes you to liability under health and safety and corporate responsibility law. The vast majority of commercial alarm activations are false alarms, but the one that isn't is exactly the one you don't want your staff walking into.
Professional keyholding removes that risk entirely. A trained, SIA-licensed officer attends instead — someone who knows how to assess a scene, tell a genuine activation from a fault, manage the situation and work alongside the police. Your team sleeps through it. Your premises are protected. And the whole thing is documented.
There's an insurance dimension too. Many commercial property policies require that off-site keyholding is carried out professionally and to recognised standards — and a documented, consistent response materially strengthens your position if you ever need to make a claim. Doing it properly protects the asset, the people and the cover.
Keyholding and alarm response in the UK is governed by BS 7984, the British Standard for the service. Risk Secured operates in line with its key-handling principles: every set of keys is uniquely numbered and coded so it carries no name or address that could identify your premises, with the linking record held securely and separately, and every movement of a key logged and auditable. Our responding officers are individually SIA-licensed and vetted in line with BS 7858.
We are working toward SIA Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) accreditation, planned for 2027. What you get from us today is SIA-licensed officers, key handling to BS 7984 principles, full DOB·Live evidence on every attendance, and direct accountability to the company director — not a faceless national contract.
Keys numbered, coded and stored securely; no address marking; full audit trail.
SIA-licensed officer attends every activation, 365 days a year.
Genuine activation or false alarm? A trained officer makes the call, not your staff.
We work with police on site, capture the incident number for your insurer.
We secure the premises and stay until it's safe; arrange boarding or lock changes if needed.
Scheduled opening and closing of your premises at times that suit you.
Let contractors or staff in, manage access when you're not there.
Every attendance timestamped, tamper-evident, visible to you in real time.
Most keyholding you have to take on trust: an officer says they attended, and you believe them. With Risk Secured, every attendance is logged live in DOB·Live — time, location, what was found, what was done — timestamped and tamper-evident, visible to you through the client portal. When an alarm goes at 3am, you wake up to a complete, evidenced record, including the police incident number for your insurer. No monthly summary you have to trust; proof you can see.
Every keyholding attendance, every alarm response, every lock-and-unlock — timestamped, tamper-evident, and visible to you via the client portal in real time. Your insurer, your solicitor and your board can rely on it.
View client portal →Talk directly to David Foster, the director responsible. We'll assess your premises and out-of-hours risk, agree a response protocol, and set it all out clearly before a single key changes hands. No obligation.