Security cameras

Detection is also deterrence

By Andrew Allentuck

ACCORDING TO THE nonprofit National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, shrinkage in stores, from employee and shopper theft, supplier fraud and inventory miscounts, amounted to $37.1 billion in 2010. “Celebrities shoplift, organized gangs do it and ordinary folks do it,” says Barbara Staib, the organization’s director of communications.

As a result of this, as well as domestic concerns about burglary and child safety, video surveillance systems have become common in businesses and in homes. Security cameras not only document activity, but can also deter or even stop crime. For a few hundred dollars, it’s possible to buy a few security cameras and a digital video recorder able to capture and hold many weeks of images.

Here are a few things to know when looking into setting up a security camera system:

• The exact amount of storage depends on how many frames of motion are recorded per second, the resolution, the capacity of the system and the amount of commotion that is recorded.

• Searching for an image of an incident is as easy as calling up a day and time that is date-stamped by the recorder or indexed by computer software, usually part of a package, that allows a desktop or portable computer to log events. Some systems permit remote viewing of images that can be sent from the camera to a smartphone anywhere in the world.

• Small systems with just a few cameras can usually be installed by the purchaser. Larger systems are best installed by licensed electricians or specialists in telecommunications systems.

• Placement of cameras has to be done
with discretion. In stores, customers expect that
they may be watched, although a store manager
could face legal challenges if cameras are in
places where there is an expectation of privacy,
such as changing rooms and bathrooms. To
protect themselves from privacy
challenges, stores usually post signs
that say the premises are watched by
security cameras.

The Costco Connection Costco and Costco.com carry a variety of security cameras for home or business use.

Andrew Allentuck is a financial writer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His latest book is When Can I Retire? Planning Your Financial Life After Work (Penguin, 2011).

 

BEING WATCHFUL when shopping or on the street is also important. Costco member Louis Perry, president of Los Angeles– based Kadima Security Services Inc., offers these tips.

1. When pulling into a parking space, observe your surroundings. If something doesn’t look right—for instance, if you see that there are people parked in a van or a car with no purpose, or if you see someone standing outside near your parking space with no purpose—find another space.

2. When leaving a store, beware of any
person who asks, “May I help you push
your cart?” While you open the car door, he
or she may try to distract you while an asso-
ciate criminal steals your purse.

3. Put credit cards and cash away at the register and not in the middle of your walk to the car.

4. Do not leave your car running while loading your shopping into it. A criminal could jump in your car and drive off.

5. If you make bank deposits regularly, use different routes. Also, do not use deposit bags while walking along the street, which can attract the attention of a criminal. Carrying the money in a fast-food bag

Be aware, be smart, be safe

would be a deterrent.

6. Before inserting your debit or credit card in an ATM, inspect the ATM and make sure a card reader hasn’t been attached to the insert section of the machine. Information gained from a card reader allows people to get into your account and withdraw your money. These criminal gadgets are inserted inside the entry of the ATM’s card reader. If you see anything protruding from the ATM’s card reader, walk away and report it.

7. Be alert for movie pirates who try to sell you movies on the street and elsewhere. Once you get home you may find there is nothing on the disc. More important, it is against the law. C