Starting a business is extremely difficult. You have an idea of a product, service, or delivering both in a new way. You have worked out how to execute the new business to be profitable. Either you or another 3rd party company has done the research to find your niche in the marketplace. Finding the best location for a business is critical in any business open to the public. It needs to be visible on a major road with easy access to get into and out of. Then getting the location renovated and redecorated to the theme of the new business all costs money and lots of it. Don’t forget about permits and licenses to operate, since the government always gets their cut. Now you have tools and inventory to purchase before opening the doors. Finding the right employees and training them takes more time and money. Up to this point you as the owner have a very large investment in your new baby, so can you really afford to take a lock and key approach to protecting your new business? I think not.
As a society we have many methods to protect our businesses. Law enforcement and threat of imprisonment has been the standard forever. As a prevention method they do not do well. In most instances law enforcement springs into action after something has already happened. That is too late for many people. In some cases if no one is there to see the crime committed it is difficult to even get an arrest. Then in many cases a criminal will get off on a technicality. A common technicality would be the accused having a “witness” seeing them elsewhere at the time of the crime. The prosecution can only attack credibility to try to sway opinion of the judge and jury. In a jury trial that has some affect. If the trial is only by judge facts are typically only considered and will be ruled on accordingly. If there is a lack of evidence getting a conviction will be next to impossible. If a picture is worth a 1000 words, a video is worth peace of mind.
Security cameras offer a level of protection that has not been available to the small business. Cameras have come a long way from ten years ago. It used to be the only way you could really identify a person was if you actually knew and saw that person on a regular basis. Now cameras have such a crisp picture that you can run them through facial recognition software and the police can identify the person. Being able to expand on the amount of TV lines in a camera has improved the resolution of the image. Another technology wide dynamic range (WDR) allows the CCTV camera to adjust to light conditions. Thereby allowing more light to enter the iris and delivering a crisper image. Backlight compensation adjusts to light that is behind an object being recorded so the object is illuminated instead of appearing dark. All recording devices are susceptible to interference or noise on the signal. Digital noise reduction (DNR) technology reduces scattered light and electromagnetic interference on the video feed. DNR filters out the external interference from other sources thereby improving overall picture quality. Vary-focal lenses create the zoom feature on cameras. With Vary-focal a camera can be used at greater distances to monitor an area of interest.
CCTV cameras are very good in doing the same thing as an armed guard. When in plain sight people know they are on camera. These people will think twice before acting unethically forcing them to take their criminal intentions elsewhere. The best part about cameras is they don’t need breaks. They do not go home at the end of the day. 24 hours a day they record what is happening. There is no bias in what is recorded ensuring no prejudice one way or the other. Just as guard on duty lets people know we are watching, you will be caught, and you will be turned into law enforcement. Security camera systems put the fear of being caught back in the front of people’s minds. Audio microphones are now available in addition to the cameras provide you the ability to listen in on anything that is happening inside your business. Just like the cameras they can be used almost anywhere. This takes you from the digital age to the age of knowledge.
These new technologies implemented in CCTV cameras give you the owner the ability to seek damages against unscrupulous customers and employees. The better images deliver undisputed proof of malicious actions. This data can be used with local law enforcement as evidence in court to recover losses. As much you want to believe you hired the right people bad apples always slip through, and will cause damage to your company instead of making it better. Solid video images give you the ability to take action for compensation from theft or intentional damage to your property. The audio feed can help add to the proof of intent to damage the company. Whereas before all you could do is question a person as to where or what happened to an item. Now you can say I have you on camera stealing from me. I have you on camera intentionally causing problems in my company. With video evidence the wrongs can be righted, and more importantly leaving no grey area to be questioned. The investigation is simplified to watching a video recording. In a few minutes a determination can be made and you can be confident you made the right choice.
The steps you take to protect your company are as important as the services and products you provide. There are people that have made it their business to steal from others to make money. It is on you to let your customers and employees know that theft and damage to company property will not be tolerated, and has repercussions. CCTV cameras let those individuals know that you are serious in protecting your investment.
