Does Video Monitoring Reduce Crime?
Businesses that use remote video monitoring are able to actively deter crime by removing themselves as an easy target for criminals.
Research shows that the certainty of being caught is much more powerful in deterring crime than the possible punishment. It is human nature to avoid loss as long as possible, and the loss aversion becomes stronger when the stakes are higher, such as in the case of committing a crime.
The certainty of being caught acts as a powerful deterrent to committing a crime.
So how do businesses create the certainty of being caught, so criminals are deterred from committing crimes on their premises?
Through video monitoring and surveillance. Why does video surveillance work in deterring criminals? With remote monitoring, criminals know that if they commit a crime, they will either be caught in the act or caught at a later date.
Criminals are constantly on the lookout for easy targets. With remote monitoring, businesses clearly depict that they are no longer an easy target. Let’s find out more about how security cameras and signage deter crime.
How Does Video Monitoring Deter Crime?
Rather than deterring crime, most businesses’ goals are to catch thieves after their crime is committed and the damage has already been done. Catching criminals after the fact is not the best course of action for a business. Property that is damaged because of criminal cases cannot be easily rectified. Insurance claims on damaged and stolen property can lead to a higher premium.
There is, additionally, the possibility of spending time on prosecution once criminals have been caught. Criminal acts also inflict damage on the company’s reputation.
The security and reputation of a company are compromised when it has been robbed. This can cause the employees to feel unsafe, and customers could also feel insecure on the premises. These are the disadvantages to security that is solely focused on after-the-fact damage control.
Deterrence measures are important to businesses that don’t want to be paying exorbitant fees and accounting for losses from property damages.
Deterrence is also termed proactive security because it requires proactive action to prevent crime before it happens. This requires some important infrastructure to achieve the best services.
How to get the best results from Remote Monitoring
The simplest way to create an effective preventative system is to put as much effort into crime deterrence as possible. The more investment a business makes into creating crime barriers, the better the results they will get in crime deterrence.
Studies have shown that security signage and video monitoring go a long way toward deterring crime effectively. Video surveillance isn’t enough to deter criminals. And recording and capturing criminals after committing the crime is definitely not enough to deter crime.
The best results in crime prevention are when video surveillance is combined with other crime preventative tools:
• Lighting
• Alarms
• Signage
• Security guards
• Blocked off defensible areas
The most valuable addition to proactive crime prevention, however, is remote monitoring and remote guards who can deploy preventative measures like lighting and booming announcements. These combined efforts with smart technology and human intervention are the best means of preventing criminals from taking advantage of properties.
The more effort put into crime prevention, the better the results. And this effort can be easily invested when hiring a company that outsources protection remotely through smart technology like Swissguard.
How Does Video Monitoring Work?
Crime requires anonymity to be active. Criminals will only enact a crime when they know the risk of being caught is low. The best ways to ensure that criminals are deterred are through remote monitoring systems. These professionally designed and deployed systems can reduce the risk of a crime taking place, but they also make a business appear like a much harder target.
The feeds from the surveillance cameras are monitored in real time by trained individuals. These monitoring agents are aided by state-of-the-art artificial intelligence to detect when there are alerts on the property.
Additionally, having fencing and lighting in conjunction with video surveillance cameras can show criminals that the property is heavily protected, even if there is no physical guard on the property.
Surveillance systems can be used in conjunction with several different crime prevention methods that are continuing to show their effectiveness in preventing criminals from actively perpetrating crimes.
1. Audio and visual deterrents sound the alarm when a criminal steps onto the property.
2. Thermal imaging, which detects the physical presence of criminals in the dark, is becoming an increasingly popular defence tool for properties.
3. Live monitoring agents offer an around-the-clock surveillance service using the video technology a business already has installed.
The majority of crime happens after hours for most businesses. That is why it is imperative to advertise that you have state-of-the-art security measures and active monitoring on-site. Criminals will then know that they are not going to remain in the dark when they step onsite.
Remote monitoring is able to work around the clock and deter criminals, preventing theft and vandalism.
If a criminal understands that they are not only being recorded but are also being actively surveilled by monitoring agents, the investment in state-of-the-art technology becomes an effective proactive deterrence strategy.
Crime can be deterred with these measures. But they can also respond to crime as it happens with a real-time reaction response. All the while recording the crime to be used in prosecution.
It is imperative to partner with a security company that can provide proactive and effective protection to your property. Swissguard is a trusted partner in protecting and ensuring the security of business premises.
Swissguard makes a security system worth the investment that any business makes and waits patiently for criminal activity to arise to deploy counter-crime measures and contact the local authorities.
Deterrence works as a measure to prevent crime, and partnering with cost-effective security solutions means that your video monitoring systems go a long way towards warding off criminals and preventing theft and damage to properties.