With the current upheaval of society worldwide brought about by the global pandemic and skyrocketing inflation, protecting your property from theft is steadily working its way up the priority list.  As criminal behavior evolves, the security world must innovate and enable technological solutions to meet and surpass the evolution of criminality.  Criminals rely on home and business owners cutting corners to save money and not utilizing security systems that provide full coverage to their property.  The advent of video security has been a boon for the industry and has helped reduce criminal activity be it through more prosecutions due to better evidence or merely through scaring away would be criminals by the just the sight of a video camera.  However, as court cases pass through the justice system, criminals begin to evaluate what holds up in court, and they adjust their tactics to reduce their rate of capture and conviction.  The key in getting criminals off the street and protecting or recovering your property is being able to identify the culprit beyond a reasonable doubt.  The best way to do that is through cutting-edge video security.

Your First Layer of Defense

The first step in upgrading your video security and protecting yourself, your family, and your business from property theft is through a state of the art video security system.  Statistics show that video surveillance has had a significant effect in the reduction of property theft.  Ensuring that your video security system creates usable images instead of grainy video is imperative to authorities nabbing the burglar.  Also, much like the computer tech’s age old question, “did you turn the computer on,” it is also crucial to ensure the system is always recording.  As criminals better themselves at concealing their identities during criminal acts, it is important to ensure your video security is properly set up in the correct and most advantageous locations to capture all angles of the thief or thieves in an effort to gather as much evidence as possible.  Witnesses to the crime are also a benefit to any investigation, but the purpose of a video security system is to reduce any chance of coming face to face with a thief and also to ensure you have a “witness” to the crime even when you are not at home or at work.  If the system is not recording, then you’ve just lost your star witness.

Technologically Advanced Perimeter Detection Solutions

The evolution of perimeter detection solutions has grown multifold over the last few years, due in large part to the socio-economic complexities facing the world today. Many modern video surveillance systems rely on wifi networks to send data to locations such as a central station monitoring location or to cellphones and / or tablets.  It is imperative that your network contain encryption to ensure hackers remain unable to obtain any personal data from the network.  The installation of a modern, comprehensive video security system should include the use of an NVR system (Network Video Recorder) which processes and streams video date to a download location, the encryption of IP camera feeds from end to end, individual programming for each camera to ensure it is serving its specific purpose and performing at optimal levels.  End to end encryption for video security feeds is the most efficient way to ensure hackers cannot see or steal your video footage.  The video is encrypted before it streams from the system you have in place.  It is then decrypted as the video is received by your device through an app that has been downloaded.  Many security management firms take this step even further by securing their video storage systems with end to end encryption as well.  This provides a comprehensive encryption system that eliminates any ability of hackers to gain access to any security footage at any point in the video surveillance and transference process.

If you are concerned about using wifi for your video surveillance, or if the NVR systems are out of your budget, there are effective DVR (Digital Video Recorder) systems available to use.  These systems are wired systems that utilize analog cameras and coaxial cable.  While you may be protecting yourself from hackers over wifi or interruptions in wifi connectivity, DVR systems are hardwired and are then susceptible to electrical outages or cut wires by clever criminals.

Tailored to Your Needs

Now that it has been established that video security is indeed the best step towards property theft prevention, it is important to tailor those systems to your specific needs.  One great advancement of video security systems today are their ability to integrate with other security systems you may be utilizing, such as access control or fire alarm and prevention or suppression systems.  If your security system is monitored through central station monitoring, having all alarms and video feeds monitored by one company 24/7 can provide a home or business owner peace of mind, and perhaps a night of good sleep, knowing their homes and businesses are safe from property theft through the watchful eyes of monitors who are always on duty.  As discussed above, there are two different methods of recording and storing video security footage:  NVR and DVR systems.  Deciding which system is right for you may be a challenge.  It is best practice to contract with certified, experienced security companies like A Total Solution to ensure you are maximizing the benefit of the technology out there within any budgetary constraints.  ATS’ technicians are NICET, FASA/BASA certified and can manage all of your security needs from installation to inspection, from maintenance to repairs, and even offer 24/7, 365 days a year central station monitoring with emergency service availability to boot.

Trust your security needs to a company with more than 30 years of experience in the security industry. Protecting your property is our job.  Contact us today to speak with a certified technician to determine how we can protect your property from theft or upgrade your current system.