- Doing anything with CCTV is better than doing nothing.
- Only use dummy cameras in tandem with real cameras.
- Today, legitimate customers don’t feel video monitoring is invasive.
(Consider that when you walk up Queen Street in Auckland you are photographed 80 times) - Service your cameras regularly, particularly those in harsh environments.
(Dirty lenses and housings are the weak link in your CCTV system.) - Concentrate on areas of your business that have the greatest shrinkage.
- Use professionals for covert jobs and particularly for investigations into patterns of offending.
Things you can do to make CCTV work for your business.
- Check the image: Too often as the sun sets beautifully in the West, someone walks in and commits an offence. Usually the picture is so brightly backlit that the culprit looks like a shadow running across the screen.
- Check the image again: Too often retailers are fooled into purchasing substandard equipment. Be wary of the cheapest. Invariably the cheapest will produce an ineffective image. More often than not this equipment will suffer more badly with the introduction of a change of light to the picture.
- Get Help: Always seek advice from a licensed CCTV security professional who can explain the function and suitability of this product. If he cannot do this ask to speak to his supplier.
- Make sure you protect the digital recorder: What happens after robber takes the cash and then asks for the video tape as well before he leaves. There is no tape to remove in a digital unit and it is unlikely that he would try and take the whole machine due to all the connections to cameras, monitors, LAN and power that are attached to it.
- Raid Button: In a raid situation a raid button can activate the digital sprite unit to send e-mails inclusive of images of the event to a selected number of recipients. This means and that even if the offender did take the entire machine, the images of the event would already have been forwarded to other people.
- Carefully consider your decision as to whether or not to monitor events in the “live” format. Consider also the use of a second monitor within view of the public or other staff.
Extended Applications
Consider the ramifications of a prosecution under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. CCTV can assist both in identifying risks and proving that no blame lies with the employer.
In the same instance, reports of work related ACC claims can be nullified when it can be proven that the claimed accident did not happen at the reported particular place and time on site.
Many successful companies are now using CCTV to assist in Quality Control, both on the production floor and with staff training.
Using CCTV as a resource management tool to monitor required staffing levels at different times and at different locations at your business.