Business Alarm Systems: How CCTV Cameras Enhance Your Security
At Turner Security, we use Closed Circuit TV monitoring as part of our business alarm systems to add an extra layer of defense for our clients against theft, burglary, and business damage. Closed Circuit TV, or CCTV, is a system that uses video cameras to send video and sometimes audio to a monitor or video recorder. Unlike regular broadcast television which sends a signal to the public, CCTV uses either wireless or wired (i.e. phone lines) to send the images to a recording device or a monitoring center.
They used to be expensive and you’d see them only in high-level retail stores, casinos, and banks, but the technology is now affordable enough that a small business can add CCTV to their business alarm system budget. We made a huge investment in building our own central monitoring stationin 2000, right here in Fresno, so that the monitoring and reporting is fast, economical, and local for our customers.
Here’s what CCTV can do to upgrade your business security:
Door and window alarms are the foundation of a security system. We use them to detect entry through what most criminals see as the easiest route. But sometimes, they’re desperate or think they’re clever enough to work around the usual entry points.
Criminals have been known to cut through walls and ceilings and climb through ducts to get into a business. This bypasses the door and window alarms, but motion detector can pick up their movement, alerting our monitors. Then, CCTV video monitoring can confirm an unauthorized entry. The ability to see a burglar – along with our great reputation with Fresno Police Department – makes a call from our alarm monitoring center very credible.
Sometimes thieves don’t wait until afterhours to break in to steal valuable goods. Daytime theft is a concern for jewelry stores, camera or electronics, or retail stores of course, but it can also be a problem for any business. Do you have computer monitors next to windows? On a desk near the front door? Or do you employees leave purses, keys, or briefcases in unlocked drawers or right out in plain sight? First, we recommend that all valuables are locked away, but CCTV can help deter thieves if it’s clear you’ve got it or help catch them if you’re the unfortunate victim.
An even sadder use of CCTV is to catch or prevent employee theft, which costs U.S. businesses up to $200 billion each year. An employee can siphon off thousands of dollars a year by pocketing cash. Receipt tracking and drawer reconciliation and video cameras over the registers can help prevent these types of losses.
You know how much better you feel when you leave the office or go on vacation and you have one of your V.P.’s or managers “keep an eye on things” for you? That’s what CCTV and business alarm systems monitoring does for you. Except that it’s 24/7 and the people monitoring your business don’t have to juggle multiple responsibilities. They have one job: monitor your business and respond to any problems.
Sometimes these are unexpected problems, like the time one of our security employees saw a fire start at one of our monitoring clients and quickly called the fire department. They stopped a potentially devastating loss for the business.
Wondering how much business alarm monitoring and CCTV monitoring would cost for your business? Give us a call for a free quote at (559) 486-3466.