Ex-Employees: Is business camera footage enough?

Recently, a local Polk County business was burglarized multiple times in one night, and the burglary was caught on a business camera. According to a post by the Polk County Sheriff on Facebook, cash was taken from the business. Due to the circumstances, many on social media thought “it was an inside job”. Whether that is true has yet to be determined as of this post.

Business cameras provide insight on many things. They can catch a “slip and fall”, identify shoplifters, and watch “point of sale” transactions through camera analytics. They are a useful and a necessary part of a business’s security system. But ex-employees are different than the average burglar. There are certain inside tips that they gain access to while employed at a business.

They know camera locations

If a person were to walk into and start casing the business, looking at the cameras and nothing else, that would be suspicious. But employees are in the building up to eight hours a day. Most of the time, employees know where all or most of the cameras are located. If there are cameras in a location that employees are not allowed, secure the area where the cameras are viewed. It is also important for business owners to keep the area where the recording device is installed in a secure location. This can prevent an employee from tampering with the entire camera system. However, if an ex-employee breaks into a business, that person probably knows where the recording device is located. Having at least one cloud camera on the recording device would be a good investment. They can steal the recording device, but they cannot steal or destroy the footage in the cloud.

They know the building

Employees know the building.  Even if they don’t put away the money, they know an approximate location of where it is kept.  And they may not have a code to arm the security system, but they know that there is one.  In the case above, the business has a sign implying the use of a security system.  But the burglar still got in, TWICE.  It even appears he may have known where the valuables were located.  When building your security system, your consultant should make detailed notes of everything that is valuable and important.  A few devices on the doors and a couple of motion detectors may be cheap, but is it really securing your business?   If there was an armed security system, why did he get away?  Unfortunately, traditional security systems only cover part of the building.  A properly built system may cost more, but it outperforms the cheaper system.  Impact activated audio sensors activate on sound.  Burglars always make sound.  Operators hear the live audio feed and can notify police of an active burglary in progress.  This type of verified system increases police response time in two ways.  First, the operator doesn’t have to follow traditional procedures according to Florida Statue 489.529 and call the owners first.  They can send help immediately because they have confirmed a burglary.  Second, police are aware that there is an actual crime in progress because operators can hear inside the building.  On certain camera systems, an alarm will activate cameras to allow operators to see inside the building.  Important details can be shared with law enforcement while they are en route.  Find a company that guarantees their product.  In the case above, the owners were no doubt quite disappointed if there was an installed security system that did not alert police.

If you are a business owner interested in securing your building, please contact us for a fee assessment.