Safeguarding your business is one of your highest priorities. The safety and security of your people, machinery and equipment, product and materials and the general public is essential and it is critical that you invest in them. However, if you are investing in CCTV technology then you need to know that the system you decide on and install is fit-for-purpose and is giving you the best possible returns.
The investment required for a CCTV system is significant, but it is very easy to install a system that promises much but delivers very little.
So how do you get the most out of your CCTV?
Here we have listed the seven things that a good CCTV system should deliver, and what you should get for your money.
1. Providing a visual deterrent
A big feature of a CCTV system is that potential thieves or intruders can see that you have one installed and are therefore deterred from criminal behaviour. However, some CCTV cameras are small and discreet and barely detectable. This in itself can be an advantage, if someone commits a criminal offence unaware that they are being watched, but in general, it is more useful to have visible cameras that are positioned so that a person is aware of their presence and accordingly decides against committing an offence. In other words, the positioning of cameras and CCTV signage is very important.
2. Offering full-site visibility
Another element of camera positioning is enabling full-site visibility. While it may be beyond your budget to have cameras in literally every position on your site, you do want to avoid as many ‘blind spots’ as possible. These are locations on your site where someone might be aware there is no CCTV coverage and hence they can ‘hide’ there or commit an offence there, knowing there will be no CCTV evidence. You can avoid these by installing 360 degree cameras in certain locations, or reduce the risk by ensuring that blind spots are not where fire exits, other entrances or vulnerable access points are situated. Some businesses will combine CCTV systems with mobile security patrols to ensure full site coverage, which is an effective solution also, but does add cost which a couple of extra cameras may cover anyway.
3. Allowing you to identify thieves and intruders
A principle aim of having a CCTV system is to provide evidence and identify intruders or thieves when they commit an offence on your premises. However, quite often the quality of coverage is poor or it is too dark to positively identify someone. Ideally you need HD-quality coverage and cameras which operate just as well in darker conditions and overnight. Face detection features also help in providing certainty when attempting to identify someone.
4. Providing evidence
It is one thing having cameras to capture offences being committed, but it is another thing finding the footage to use as evidence. It can be difficult to scan through hours of footage attempting to establish when an offence was committed and trying to find the culprit in the act, but video analytics software does make this much easier. This feature in a CCTV system enables the user to more easily find relevant footage, and bigger hard drives and memory capabilities ensure that footage can be saved and retrieved for future use.
5. Alerting you to possible danger
While capturing evidence of an offence being committed is the traditional purpose of CCTV, modern systems can also alert you to possible danger before an offence occurs. Motion tracking, virtual tripwires, loitering alerts and vehicle target classification are all ways in which the system can pinpoint potential points of concern and can then alert the user so that they can act accordingly.
6. Allowing you to monitor behaviour
Using CCTV to monitor internal personnel has always been a benefit of a good system, after all, it is not always external people who commit offences. However, you can also use CCTV to monitor the behaviour of internal employees. Head counts and queue management enable you to track who is on site, what status they have and what happens in certain situations, and heat maps enable you to monitor how long people spend in certain areas. This can help with job tracking and disciplinary issues.
7. Integrated systems
With smart technology at home we are used to being able to control our TV, music, doorbell, heating and home security through one central control hub, and you can do that in the workplace now also. A good CCTV system can be integrated to work alongside your access control systems, security alarm and fire alarm to provide full visibility and smart management via one central control panel.
CCTV technology supplied by First Response Group covers all these system requirements to provide full coverage, effective identification and supplementary features. You can choose from CCTV towers, temporary CCTV systems and static cameras fixed in strategic locations. We can work with you to design the system that suits you best and with great features like live streaming, and user-friendly benefits such as easy set-up and wired or wireless systems.
Contact First Response Group today for the best CCTV systems to suit the demands of your business.
Article By:
Head of Technical Sales
