A remote monitoring surveillance system provides outstanding flexibility while protecting your most exposed spots. Here are a few common areas to keep an eye on!
Keeping a business safe from theft and vandalism is always a priority, but it’s also a persistent challenge. Nevertheless, owners and managers can do some practical things to minimize the risks, including investing in a surveillance system.
Once you opt for one of these systems, strategically placing cameras around the site to ensure their effectiveness is imperative. Every location is different, but prioritizing some common types of areas is a good start. Here’s a look at some spots where your business might be at risk, providing insights that may help you customize a security solution.
Start with high-traffic areas
Before all else, you’ll want to consider high-traffic areas when installing surveillance cameras. These locations can be challenging to monitor at some times of the day because people are always coming and going. Still, a surveillance system allows you or your security team to go back and analyze footage if you notice something is missing or vandalism occurs.
One high-traffic area to consider is the parking lot, as nearly every visitor to a property will arrive and exit from it. Putting cameras in the lot lets you see who has entered on a particular day and provides a clear view of any vehicle break-ins, assaults, or slip-and-fall claims that happen.
Positioning cameras at front gates is viable if an organization doesn’t have a designated parking lot. Monitoring the main entrance provides similar information on vehicles or people entering a property, permitting a security team to dig deeper if criminality is suspected. Companies with a storefront or lobby area also typically always place cameras overlooking the main doors or reception area.
Think of the common areas that receive the most vehicle and foot traffic and place monitored surveillance cameras in those locations.
Locations with valuable goods
Where do you keep your business’s most valuable tools, equipment, supplies, or merchandise?
Do your employees know where you keep these items?
How about the public?
Are they easily accessible?
Would you know if someone accessed them?
All those questions are worth thinking about while developing a security solution. Having a surveillance system monitoring the locations of valuable items is essential because they’re likely targets, and you stand to lose the most if something goes missing.
A construction company, for instance, might have a storage area where workers keep their tools. This same area might house some heavy-duty construction equipment and prized materials, all of which are highly valuable to thieves. Installing cameras in this area allows you to see who’s coming and going from your storage building while quickly identifying anyone with no reason to be there during off-hours.
The same goes for businesses that accept cash payments, as they typically have money on the premises at or after closing for the evening. Using a surveillance system to protect safes and cash registers adds a layer of security, especially since staff members could be the culprits.
Whatever they may be, consider the items thieves most want to steal from your business. And ensure you surveil the areas where you keep them.
Hidden spots
Every site or structure has hidden locations that don’t see much traffic or house valuables but could be sources of entry or ideal spots for other criminal activity.
For example, a roofing company might have a large yard with security fencing around the perimeter and even surveillance at the gate. Still, managers might not consider the seldom-used areas at the back of the yard. And keeping an eye on the latter spots is necessary because their lack of activity makes them a prime place for thieves to enter the property undetected.
The same goes for poorly lit or secluded areas inside of a building or on an open site. For example, staff members could hide tools and equipment in these spots while planning to steal them later. Criminals may similarly hide after hours or commit crimes like assaults or illegal drug use in low-visibility areas. These zones could even become popular locations for staff to avoid scrutiny when they’re supposed to be working, costing their employer in the process.
Placing cameras in under-the-radar areas — especially ones that provide hiding spots or unobserved points of entry — is a priority.
Developing a custom solution
These vulnerable areas are merely examples of locations a business might want to monitor as part of a video surveillance solution. Developing a custom setup is essential because every organization and location are different, and each has distinct requirements.
Considering the areas that are most trafficked, vulnerable, and under the radar is a good first step to adequate surveillance. But a professional security company takes this analysis and camera placement much further, meshing sightlines with camera capabilities to ensure at-risk spots are covered. Ultimately, a customized plan best protects your business and its valuable assets.
Mobile Video Guard offers surveillance solutions with remote monitoring to businesses. We can assist by installing cameras in vulnerable areas and having a remote security professional watch the feed to protect your assets. Contact Mobile Video Guard today to learn more or get a quote on a custom surveillance system.