How does remote monitoring work?
The prevailing image of CCTV monitoring can be described as: ‘one person maintains an unblinking vigil of a huge array of screens, looking for developing offenses’.
This is a common misconception. The reality is that Secured by Design (SBD) member company Professional Surveillance Management’s (PSM) remote monitoring and crime prevention service is a much more proactive affair. Here Kerry Jones, CEO of PSM, dispels the myth of how remote monitoring is conducted by providing insight into the way PSM operates.
“A remotely monitored site has movement-sensing detectors installed with each detector corresponding to one or more cameras. When the detectors are triggered, the corresponding CCTV footage is transmitted to our operators for verification of the cause of alarm.
“As soon as a detector is triggered an audible alarm is also sent to our control room. This method is effective because our operators are immediately made aware of any activity instead of having to engage constantly with noiseless moving images, which may or may not be displaying activity.
“Simply put, PSM’s operators are made aware of activity as and when it is happening.
“When a trespasser is identified, live and pre-recorded audio warnings are issued, which are enough to deter most intruders. The incident is also reported to the police and a keyholder in real time.
- Motion detectors sense movement on site
- An alarm containing live and recorded CCTV footage is sent to the control room
- Operators look at live and recorded footage to determine a cause
- If there is an intruder, operators issue audio warnings to alert the trespasser to the fact that they are being monitored
- Control room operators report all incidents to the police and notify keyholders in real time
“Our terminals are manned by multiple people at any given time, ensuring that nothing goes unnoticed. The method outlined above facilitates their fast and efficient response to any activity. This is a big part of the reason why we continue to achieve a 100% success rate in detecting and reacting to criminal attacks”.
You can find out more about PSM, one of only two remote monitoring CCTV companies to have achieved Secured by Design’s Police Preferred Specification, and their SBD accreditation here: https://www.securedbydesign.com/member-companies/sbd-members?view=companydetail&account=0011i00000Jpw4XAAR