Many service station owners or operators think they are safe , if they have surveillance cameras. They aren’t particularly concerned about the characteristics of the surveillance system – just the mere fact that they have them, they didn’t cost and arm and a leg and they are visible.
Even though research shows that the visible presence of cameras contribute to the reduction of armed robbery incidents – you should know that it’s not the presence of just any camera alone.
If footage from your camera during an incident is blasted out on the front page, and it looks like this!
or this:
Is that really going to deter armed robbers from targeting you business?
Armed robbers know the status of your surveillance system, before they decide to rob you!
- Robbers will know that your cameras are low resolution, and lack the technical features to deal with dynamic light ranges. Low budget cameras are not going to deter armed robbers. They are well aware that the cameras won’t contribute any data to the investigation, that will lead to them being identified or apprehended.
- Robbers will also know that your camera placement may create many blindspots, that they can exploit. Camera angles are wrong, so as to suffer obstructions to the image. They don’t overlap areas to ensure complete coverage from different angles. Robbers will use these blindspots to assist them. This is usually the result of trying to limit the number of cameras deployed in favor of the budget. Inadequate risk assessment and operational requirement analysis will also contribute to this.
- Finally the robbers know that there is no dedicated operator observing the cameras. Therefore the cameras will not contribute to a rapid response by emergency agencies, but merely serve as after the fact investigative tool. If the operator is on the same site as the camera system, they will merely devise a plan to eliminate the operator and on-site guards first. Sadly it has become almost imperative, that high risk facilities now have off-site monitoring, linked to rapid armed response agencies.
Don’t be mislead. Inadequate surveillance systems abound, suggesting low budget installs by ill-equipped or misinformed installers. Images comparable to those above litter the internet, as testament to these inadequacies.
The only benefit of video surveillance at service station is deterrence. If your system fails to achieve that objective – then yes, it did cost an arm and a leg, and it’s of no use to you at all.
Effective video surveillance hinges about these considerations –
1. Conduct proper and professional Risk Assessment and Operational Requirements Analysis,
2. allow that, and not your budget, to determine the technical specification and number of cameras required,
3. Have a realistic budget relative to the potential losses that you are aiming to prevent.
