There is more to just installing CCTV Surveillance
Nowadays, CCTV surveillance are being installed in homes, parking lots, hotels,
supermarkets but people fail to realize that there are sacrifices to make in ensuring a complete CCTV surveillance system.
Installing a CCTV surveillance can only reduce the use of manpower and not total elimination of manpower. It is unfortunate to hear lots of scenario where robbers or shoplifters have stolen expensive properties or merchandise while CCTV surveillance was in operation.
We need to realize that the duo have their respective roles to play in a complete and successful CCTV surveillance.
CCTV surveillance has the capability of detecting a threat i.e capture unlawful or unusual activities but needed an operator (manpower) to alert the necessary authority, unit or rapid response squad to stop the threat. If there is no operator (manpower), it would not be possible to stop the threat and that is why robbers or shoplifters succeeded in their illicit operations.
**** Make sure you have 24/7 electricity in place, you can also add inverter backup system to provide continuous operation.
**** Your primary aim should be the security of your properties or merchandise and not looking for thieves after luxuries have been stolen.
If you run a supermarket, below are the tips in having a successful or complete CCTV surveillance system in place:
1. Make sure you don't have a blind spot.
2. Make sure you have at least 2 operators in the control room monitoring the CCTV surveillance.
3. Make sure you have walkie talkie in place so that the operator can easily alert the undercover security agents in the supermarket by describing the shoplifter and the merchandise being shoplifted.
4. Make sure the undercover security agents are always wearing hands free connected to the walkie talkie system and while the walkie talkie must be properly hidden to avoid from being seeing or spotted.
5. Undercover security agents must avoid gazing or looking directly at shoplifters as this could make them nervous or vulnerable.
6. Make sure you have a good telephone system in the control room so that the operator can place a direct call to the police rapid response squad in case of an hostage, remember that the operator is the first person to discover threat from the main entrance to the building.
7. Make sure your CCTV control room is located where is inaccessible to the public, non-staff and non-technical staff to avoid sabotage.
8. Make sure to put CCTV in Operation stickers on your main entrance door as this is used for warning people that your premises is under surveillance and this might have shoplifters to change their mind and leave.
9. In a situation where operator will not be available at night, make sure to setup a PIR sensor, Active Infrared Beam Sensor, Magnetic Contact as extra layer of security to the main entrance and every access door to the supermarket which must be wired to the CCTV machine and connected to an alarm device with a strobe light.
10. Make sure you have at least 2 undercover agents parading themselves as customers, this is just to ensure that no merchandise is being shoplifted and they will always be on a lookout and to follow up operator's description of the shoplifting.
11. Make sure you enforce customers to drop their bags before shopping as this will reduce shoplifting and make sure you provide more than enough shopping carts.
12. Make sure you always watch out when a group of people come in the same time, try to be vigilant and avoid being distracted by any member of the group because that is another strategy shoplifters use to carry out their illicit and nefarious activities.
13. You might also want to go for RFID tagging as this will also reduce shoplifting. Merchandise bought will have to come to cashier's table for payment after which the RFID tag will be detagged. Any merchandise that has not pass through the cashier's table is regarded attempted stolen because the tag has not been detagged and on getting close to the exit door, the tagged merchandise must set off the alarm where the security at the door takes it up.
14. Always remember that you only want to secure your merchandise and not interested in finding thieves after merchandise or properties stolen
15. Consider installing a CCTV video storage server might be a plus to your existence CCTV surveillance system, you can always have a mirror of the video files in your CCTV machine should in case the CCTV machine is being stolen or destroyed. This will be placed in another secured and remote location that is
not accessible to non-technical staffs.
