Reduce Crime at Businesses with Quality Surveillance Systems that are Regularly Maintained
A recent piece on NBC 12 in Richmond profiled a store owner who uses high quality video cameras to monitor his property and surrounding areas. The store owner finds that the money spent on a quality surveillance system gives him security he would not have with a bargain-camera.What is the Difference Between a Professionally Installed Surveillance System and a Camera System from a Big Discount Store?
Corey Boggs, Operations Manager at Richmond Alarm Company, says that the biggest difference is that cameras sold in most large discount stores are not commercial grade, they are consumer grade. That means they are not designed to run 24/7 and typically do not have a long life. Warranties are typically shorter and there is no repair process so downtime could be an issue.Additionally, when a camera system is designed and installed by professionals, they take into consideration the environment, field of view, lighting, and other conditions that can affect the quality of the camera image.
Not all cameras are created equal and not all cameras will work in all conditions. Professional design helps to ensure that the property is protected properly and the images will be reliable and usable. Oftentimes when police are called to the scene of a robbery, they find the images of cheap camera systems to be too dark or blurry and are not much help in identifying the suspect.
Regular Maintenance of Surveillance Equipment
Police encourage businesses to keep their systems maintained. Check the recordings, check the focus, make sure there is enough lighting near the camera, and clean them regularly. Often, the first time many business owners look at or adjust their camera system, after the initial installation, is when there has been an incident! This is too late.‘It's good to have all those things in place, so when robberies happen we'll be able to apprehend those suspects,’ said Richmond Police Lt. Ronnie Armstead.”
CCTV versus Video Monitoring
Closed circuit television (CCTV) is useful to monitor and digitally record activities. This video surveillance is useful after a robbery to use as evidence in identifying and prosecuting suspects. It can be monitored by you or your representatives on your property, but it is typically not monitored by a security company (although it is possible with IP connectivity). Richmond Alarm recommends a product called Videofied. This system consists of an inconspicuous, portable and wireless Motion Viewer that triggers a signal to our monitoring station, in the event of activity in the protected area. Our monitoring professionals are trained to recognize actual threats versus non-threatening or “false” alarms such as animals or wind-blown debris. In the event of an actual threat, police are notified and often catch the crooks in the act.To have your CCTV system looked at or cleaned up, give our service department a call at 804-858-0106.