Best Security Products blog

Welcome to my 2 part series on understanding the best ways to protect your outdoor assets.

In part 1 (click here to read part 1), we focused on the different protection options available and whether they are good solutions. In part 2, we walk through the steps to help you decide what protection is right for you and your unique needs.

What Kind of Outdoor Asset Protection is Right for Me?

Ask yourself the following questions to determine the best course of action. 
1) What is my budget? (Initially/upfront, monthly)
2) How much involvement do I/we want to have in the process?
3) What’s at risk? ( high value, low value)
4) Assess future or past crimes. Were they on going issues or a single isolated incident?
5) Could product or service provide other benefits (employee accountability, notification of events, tracking of inventory)?

Whether it’s a large or small business or homeowners’ association or for residential use you need to determine the threat and the potential loss. This can be hard to determine if you let emotions get in the way.

At the same time, if you feel your families’ lives are at risk then there is no cost that can’t be justified. Sometimes it’s good to step back and try to put your emotions aside and make a sound business decision where you consider the costs associated with the benefits.

Homeowners

I can’t tell you how many times I get calls from homeowners who feel their neighbor or some family member is mysteriously getting into their house or doing something and they want to catch them in the act. In most instances I will provide them with the cost of a commercial grade camera system and this will generally relieve their paranoid reaction, and they will think of some other relief from this typical overreaction.

Don’t get me wrong - I understand there are real threats.

There are threats that may fall into this area, but in most instances it is an overreaction that is not worth the cost involved for an irrational spur of the moment decision that will probably not yield their desired results.

Because there are really no good wireless camera systems, hardwired camera systems need to be installed and in most instances it is difficult in existing homes. Take into the account the difficult installation and the cost of good commercial grade equipment and it is rare to justify the cost of a residential camera system. Your best bet is to go to Costco or go online and find some cheaper version and install it yourself (or with the help of a friend).

Business or Homeowners Association

With more resources available and more assets to protect, video monitoring solutions are the best value. There are several benefits besides security from these systems which can help the management of the organization. These would include the following:

• Document all activity day and night
• Increase employee accountability and productivity
• Lower insurance premiums
• Protect against false claims (insurance, workers compensation)
• Protect against Theft and Vandalism
• Shrinkage by employees/customers
• Save Money (from alternative effective services) i.e. guards

As with anything else, you must make an informed decision and take into account the risks and benefits to determine if it is right for you or your organization.

As with most products and services, you will find many different recommendations but try to find someone who has provided such services for at least 10 years or more, and not someone that is a rookie who just entered the space because it has become popular.

You should also find a security company and not some network person who thinks they can throw up a few IP cameras and call it a day.

Local companies are best because if you contract with an out-of-town security company they will subcontract future service to individuals who are not invested in the quality of service, in general. You need to have the cameras included with some type of “event driven” device that will notify someone to actually look at the cameras remotely as the event is happening. If you don’t have this you will simply be looking at old video after the fact which could be days, weeks or even months later.

Take into account that the archived video from a standalone camera will usually not provide enough evidence to take any justifiable action. In my 25 years in the security business, the “event driven” video monitoring should be a clear choice to protect assets in real time.

Let Best Security Products help you set up an outdoor protection system that brings you peace of mind and protects your assets. Give us a call or email us at 1-800–988–2378 sales@bestsecurityproducts.com.

Welcome to my 2 part series on understanding the best ways to protect your outdoor assets.

In part 1, we are focusing on the different protection options available and whether they are good solutions. In part 2, (click here to read part 2) we walk through the steps to help you decide what protection is right for you and your unique needs.

There are many ways to protect outdoor assets, some of which are effective and some not so much. Some of which are expensive and ineffective and some that are effective and not so expensive.

Our goal is to direct you to the effective and inexpensive choices and hopefully provide the right alternative for your current situation. You are reading this for some reason (at least I hope someone is reading this) whether it be your business, or your home, or your homeowners’ association common area, or you are having problems with vandalism, theft or possibly employee accountability.

Ineffective and Costly Outdoor Asset Protection

1) Guard Service for outdoor asset protection (unreliable, costly, not effective)
2) Video Surveillance for outdoor asset protection (anticipated results can disappoint, after the fact)

The above services could fall into the category of both ineffective and costly outdoor asset protection, which is where we don’t want to go.

Guard service tends to be expensive and is well known to be unreliable. (Think mall cop). There are services they can perform such as parking control and crowd control that requires human interaction but for security not so much. Guard services will only be effective if the theft or vandalism is taking place during guard duty, which is highly unlikely or very expensive for all day/night guard watch. Some guards have been known to fall asleep at night when crimes are perpetrated.

Video surveillance is good to document the activities but this is after the fact, and if not followed up on quickly, could become irrelevant. Also, expectations of facial recognition is rarely obtained because perpetrators will hide their faces and camera positions need to be numerous, and at certain heights.

There are simple ways to protect outdoor areas that are almost free or at very little cost and effort.

Low Cost Outdoor Asset Protection Alternatives

1) Improve Lighting (add lights, make existing brighter, redirect illumination, lighting on timers or motion control)
2) Restricting Access (add fences, improve existing fences, gate locks, barbed or razor wire)
3) Limiting Access (staff level i.e. management, certain age requirements, limit hours of access, limit # of entrances)
4) Signage (warning signs, hours of operation, no trespassing, police response)
5) Landscape Adjustments (clear unnecessary foliage, plant thorny plants around areas of access i.e. fences)

The above changes will provide the perpetrators with harder access, and an area that is somewhat open and visible. Your unwanted guests typically do not like to be visible and out in the open and they don’t want to work hard to gain entry. All you need to do is make them uncomfortable and they will go seek easier prey.

Outdoor Asset Protection for More Challenging Environments

1) Access Control (limits and tracks entry of users, limits by time or authority levels and provides detailed record of activities.)
2) Security Systems (detects intrusion of areas of concern, limits entry and can be supervised to notify upon activation outside of times stipulated.)
3) Video Monitoring (detects intrusion to areas of concern with the benefit of verifying if the event is a real threat by video central station operators)
4) Video Surveillance (documents all activity day/night, deterrent)

The above products and features will provide a more robust level of outdoor asset protection with the added bonus of removing the responsibility from customers and/or employees. Most of the above will involve some cost. What you will receive is ongoing support from operators watching your property, but it is well worth the peace of mind and no hassle operation of these products and services.

In part 2, (click here to read part 2) we will walk through the steps to help you decide what protection is right for you and your unique needs.

Let Best Security Products help you set up an outdoor protection system that brings you peace of mind and protects your assets. Give us a call or email us at 1-800–988–2378 sales@bestsecurityproducts.com.

It’s spring break all across the country; a perfect time to get away from the daily routine and head someplace relaxing and fun for a week. But while you are having fun traveling and spending time with family and friends, do not forget the importance of safety.

Before you leave home, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure your property stays secure while you are away.

1. Ask a friend to collect your mail each day or have your mail stopped at the post office. When mail piles up in the mailbox, it is obvious to potential burglars that you are not home.

2. Leave a light and a television (be sure the sound is turned up) on a timer. If lights and the television come on a various times of the day, the house does not look vacant.

3. If possible, hire a house sitter. Even better than putting lights and the television on a timer is hiring someone to live at your home while you are away. Simply having someone coming and going on a regular basis communicates clearly that your home is not vacant.

4. Make sure your security alarm is in proper working condition. If someone breaks into your home while you are on vacation, you will need your security system to be triggered and then send the proper message to your monitoring company. It is a good idea to run a couple of tests to ensure that it is working. Let your monitoring company know what you are doing so they know to disregard any alerts that come through.

If you do not have a home security system installed in your home, now is the time to get one. We can help you choose the best system for your needs and your budget. Contact us today at 1-800–988–2378 or sales@bestsecurityproducts.com