It was 1:00 a.m. when the alarm to her business woke her up. She thought it was another false alarm, so she didn’t want to notify the police for fear of incurring a false alarm fee. But it was a burglar, who broke the glass to the front door, trashed the place and got away with only about $50 in cash. The business owner, an acquaintance of mine, is now installing a motion-activated camera system. Now, she will have the proof she needs before contacting police.
We have tried to make the point in this column that you are responsible for your own safety and security measures, for your family and for your business. An alarm system does not offer much protection. By the time a security guard or police arrive, it will likely be too late to protect anyone.
So what’s the best approach for security? Hint. It’s akin to dressing for cold weather. Answer: Layers.
Our previous column discussed “human intelligence,” and how seeing something with your own eyes or verifying facts with your own eyes yields the most reliable information. However, it might be too expensive to have trained security personnel for your home or business. A good camera system, perhaps one with remote viewing, adds an extra layer of security. And, whether it’s for home or for business, a camera system is a fixed cost.
Law enforcement has made excellent use of video technology. It seems the video surveillance systems just keep getting better and cheaper. As a society we seem to be growing more accepting of cameras in public. The applicable legal standard for cameras is the old “reasonable expectation of privacy.” If you are in your living room, you have the expectation of privacy At the grocery store, bowling alley or driving in a public place, you don’t have the reasonable expectation of privacy.
One local case highlighted the benefit of surveillance cameras in public places. Over the summer police charged a woman with the killing of nursing student Michelle Le. The charges were brought, in part, because of surveillance footage of the suspect at a Kaiser Permanente Medical Center parking garage. Footage showed the suspect in the parking structure before and after Le disappeared.
Police around the world are turning to cameras in hopes of reducing crime. Police can’t be everywhere at once. While cameras seem to be effective in fighting crime, how the cameras are deployed and how they are monitored are the key components. If criminals perceive the cameras are not being monitored, they are not going to change their behavior.
To recap, any single means of security or investigation might have its flaws. To rely solely on one database for doing a background check is not thorough enough, nor is hoping that an alarm system will protect you from all intruders. Rotate methods. Experiment and see what systems work best for protecting your family, your business and your assets.
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