CCTV Security Cameras for Yard Protection
How Security Cameras for Yard Protection Work Best
When it comes to security cameras for yard monitoring, it’s important to choose the right tools. Each security camera is unique and different set ups matter as well. Finally, there is a significant difference between monitored and unmonitored cameras that cannot be ignored.
Unmonitored vs Monitored Security Cameras for Yard Security
Choosing between monitored and unmonitored cameras is an important decision and one that means a great deal when it comes to the effectiveness of your security system. That’s because monitored video cameras have significant benefits.
Unlike unmonitored cameras, monitored security cameras are watched at all times by experienced security agents. This means that no matter what happens at your property, it will be seen. This makes these tools even more powerful than security guards, for instance. After all, security guards can’t see everything at once. Plus, hiring enough of them to protect a large property 24/7 quickly gets very costly.
With an unmonitored security camera, footage is not usually viewed until after a crime has already been committed. This means the cameras are not used as a deterrent as much as they are used to provide evidence.
Criminals know this. They understand that if they wear masks or hoods, it becomes nearly impossible to identify them on video. This means if they can get in and out of a property without being spotted, there is a very good chance that they will get away with their crime.
Not only can monitored cameras catch criminals in the act, but they can also stop them from committing a crime in the first place.
How Live Remote Monitoring Works
When security cameras for yard protection are installed at a truck yard, warehouse, factory, multi-residential unit, or any other property, the system doesn’t just include cameras. Monitoring systems also use two-way speakers and other security tools to monitor and communicate with a site.
The entire system is watched by trained security professionals 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If agents notice any suspicious activity, they can respond to it immediately. Cameras are also overlaid with artificial intelligence (AI), which allows agents to spot situations that would otherwise be missed by traditional tools such as onsite guards.
The monitoring agents’ ability to spot suspicious situations and react to them immediately sets monitored cameras apart from unmonitored ones. With an unmonitored camera, or with an alarm system, there is nothing in place to stop criminals from striking. If a crook can get in and out of a site before anyone responds to an alarm, they will likely get away with their crime.
Unmonitored cameras serve primarily to provide evidence to police and insurance companies after a crime has happened. They tend not to deter people from striking since criminals know that they can cover their faces and get away with their crimes.
Security Monitoring at Truck Yards
Truck yards are common targets for criminals because they have many assets and because it’s difficult to secure these sites. Most truck yards are quite large and that means security guards have difficulty watching over the entire site. This is especially true when it’s dark.
Live remote monitoring cameras can capture clear footage of the entire yard in nearly any conditions. Live agents can watch over the site, react to issues as they occur, and prevent crimes.
However, live monitoring can do more than just prevent crimes. When monitoring services are installed at a property, agents can also take responsibility for access control at the gate, parking management, and much more. Live agents are even able to watch the site for safety, protocol, or procedural violations.
For instance, if staff or visitors are not wearing appropriate safety gear, agents can communicate with them directly and correct the situation. Footage captured by monitored security cameras can also be used to train staff or modify procedures to keep a site safer.
When it comes to choosing security cameras for yards, warehouses, factories, or any large site, live remote monitoring makes sense. It offers extensive benefits that cannot be provided by other types of security. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Birdseye Security Solutions today.
How You Can Best Set Up Security Cameras in Yard Situations
Security cameras have many benefits. This makes them a popular choice for those looking to protect truck yards, construction sites, industrial properties, multi-residential complexes, and many other large sites.
If you’re looking to install security cameras in yard locations, it’s important to understand the best ways to do so. There are several factors that you should keep in mind when placing surveillance cameras at your property.
Make Sure All Entrances are Protected
The first priority when installing security cameras is to ensure that every possible entrance to your property is covered. It goes without saying that you want to stop criminals from getting into your property, so make sure to point cameras at your entrances.
This doesn’t just include typical entry points either. Windows, garage doors, and any other places that could be used as entrances are important to protect. Criminals will search for the path of least resistance. If they see that a potential entry point is unprotected, that’s where they will strike.
Protect the Perimeter
Keeping criminals out of your property is important. If you have a fence around your yard, install cameras so you can see what’s going on around it. This will allow you to spot criminals before they have a chance to strike.
Watch your Valuables
If you have certain areas that contain more valuables than others, these should be protected with surveillance cameras. Look at your site and think about what criminals would want. For instance, in a truck yard, many criminals will target trailers filled with assets. At a construction site, they may want tools or vehicles. Whenever possible, try to protect these areas with cameras.
Stop Criminals from Hiding
Are there any hiding places in or around your property? This includes dark corners, areas behind pillars, or locations that are far from the main road (so criminals feel more comfortable working without the danger of being spotted). Scout out your property and look for places where someone could hide. Then deter criminals from using these areas by installing cameras.
Don’t Make It More Difficult to Capture Footage
In general, lighting helps capture clear footage, but you want to make sure you’re not pointing your camera directly at a bright light. This can significantly hamper your ability to get good video footage. Avoid pointing your cameras at street lamps for this reason and don’t forget the sun.
As the sun moves across the sky, it could end up shining right into your camera for a large part of the day. If this happens, you’ll want to reposition it.
Keep Cameras Out of Reach
If you’re using security cameras in yard applications, you want to make sure they can’t be easily tampered with. This means you’ll want to install them in high enough locations so that a criminal can’t get to them.
Consider Live Monitoring
Some criminals may be deterred by the presence of security cameras in yard locations, but that doesn’t hold true for all of them. Most criminals know that the camera footage likely won’t be viewed until the crime has already been committed. So, they put on a mask or wear a hood and break in anyway. By the time you look at the video, they’re long gone and almost impossible to identify.
That’s why live remote monitoring is such a powerful option. With a live remote monitoring system, trained security agents watch over your property at all times using security cameras and other tools. Thanks to the correct positioning of the cameras, these agents can see the entire property 24/7.
If they notice any suspicious activity, the agent can communicate with the site and let the criminal know that they’re being watched. If the criminal doesn’t leave the property, the police will be called. This is a strong deterrent that keeps criminals out of your truck yard, construction site, or other such property.
How to Effectively Use Security Cameras in Yard Protection
Truck yards and other large properties need effective security. Since these locations are not only quite large, but because they also usually contain many valuables, they are common targets for criminals. Keeping them safe is critical. However, it’s important to choose the right security tools.
This search leads many people to use security cameras in yard protection. While this is often a good idea, choosing the right system is key. Not all security cameras and not all security systems are created equal.
Understanding Security Camera Systems
When it comes to security cameras, there are two major groups: monitored systems and unmonitored systems. Monitored systems are watched over by trained security teams at a central monitoring station. This gives them a distinct advantage over unmonitored cameras.
Unmonitored cameras primarily provide evidence after a crime is already underway. For example, if an alarm system sounds, you may check your cameras to see what’s going on. Unfortunately, at this point, the criminal has already gained access to your property. Criminals know that it takes time for police and other authorities to arrive, and that gives them a chance to commit the crime then escape before they can be caught.
It’s also important to remember that criminals usually cause quite a lot of damage when they strike a property. They smash through gates, break down doors, shatter windows, and much more. Even if they leave the scene as soon as the alarm sounds, this damage has already been done and it will be costly and time consuming to fix.
Unmonitored security cameras typically don’t deter criminals. That’s because crooks know they can simply cover their faces with masks or scarves and make it very difficult to identify them. This means, if they can leave the scene without being stopped, the chance of holding them accountable for their crimes is very low.
Live monitored cameras, on the other hand, can be used to stop criminals before they strike. Rather than worry about identifying them later or dealing with the aftermath of their crimes, you can use a monitoring system to deter criminals and keep your property safe. This makes them an ideal choice for truck yards and other large properties.
Five Reasons to use Monitored Security Cameras for Yard Protection
Truck yards and other large properties have unique security challenges. One is that these locations are usually quite large. They also contain many assets in many different places around the yard. Another issue is that, while most of these sites operate for long hours each day (some are even 24/7), there aren’t usually many people in one place at one time. That means criminals can strategically avoid being detected when they strike a property.
This is true even if there are security guards on site. That’s because, no matter how many guards you have, it remains nearly impossible for them to see the entire property at once. Plus, hiring a large number of guards can quickly get very expensive.
Using monitored security cameras for yard protection provides strong security at an affordable rate. There are several reasons why. Here are the top five.
They Deter Criminals
Criminals don’t want to get caught committing a crime. That’s obvious. However, they aren’t deterred by passive security devices like alarm systems and unmonitored cameras. That’s because these tools don’t stop criminals from striking. They merely sound an alert or record evidence once a crime is already underway.
Live remote monitoring systems, on the other hand, are set up so that agents can stop criminals before they strike. Using two-way speakers, a remote security agent can communicate with anyone seen acting suspiciously near the property.
For example, if someone is lurking around the gates, the agents can inform them that they are being watched and that the police will be called if they do not leave the property immediately. This deters criminals from striking since the chances of being caught are much higher in this scenario than they would be if police were only called after a crime was already underway.
They Protect and Track Assets
In addition to keeping criminals out of a property, live remote monitoring systems can track assets as they move around your property. For example, when a trailer arrives, it can be equipped with a tracking device and watched by live agents.
They will note its location and update this note as the trailer moves throughout the property. This way, you’ll never lose track of valuables or spend time searching for them.
They Provide Information
Live monitoring agents can provide you with additional information about your property. For example, accidents at truck yards are typically difficult to track and determine cause. With live agents watching your property, you won’t only know what has happened at your site, but you’ll also have video footage to see exactly what occurred.
They Keep People and Property Safe
Remote monitoring agents can watch for more than just crime and accidents. They can also be responsible for maintaining safety at the property. For example, agents can watch to see if proper inspections are done at the truck yard, if appropriate safety equipment is worn, if all protocols and procedures are followed, etc.
If agents see that there is an issue at the site, they can use two-way speakers to communicate with those involved and correct their behavior. In addition, agents will file a report for management and provide them with video data. This information can be valuable for training purposes.
They Are a Cost-Effective Choice
As mentioned, live remote monitoring is often significantly more affordable than hiring onsite security guards. This is because truck yards and other large properties typically require large numbers of guards to keep them safe. This gets costly very quickly.
However, in addition to the potential savings in cost, there are also significant savings when the efficiency and quality of security of remote monitoring is factored into the equation. Sites that are protected by live remote monitoring systems are significantly safer, more efficient, and more secure than those that are not.
This saves the business money and helps reduce stress and hassle.
For more information on live remote monitoring and how it can protect your property, please contact Birdseye Security Solutions today.
We have years of experience in live security monitoring and remote facility management and can help you determine the best ways to take advantage of remote security cameras for yard applications.
How to Properly Use Security Cameras in Truck Yards & Construction Sites?
While many do, there are some truck yards and even some construction sites that don’t have security cameras installed. When it comes to using security cameras in yard situations, they certainly have their benefits. In fact, if the camera system is watched 24/7 by agents at a remote monitoring station, these benefits become even greater.
If you don’t currently have security cameras installed in your truck or construction yard, or if you have unmonitored cameras, understanding the powerful benefits of monitored cameras is important and knowing this information may change your mind.
Why Is Live Remote Monitoring So Powerful?
First what is remote video monitoring?
Remote video monitoring uses an Internet connection to send footage that is captured by a single or multiple security cameras at your property to a remote Signals Receiving Monitoring Centre.
To understand why live remote monitoring has such strong benefits, it’s important to recognize the potential flaws with unmonitored cameras.
The biggest weakness with unmonitored cameras is that they aren’t watched until a problem has already happened. For instance, many property managers or owners only turn to the video footage after a crime has occurred. They want to know what happened and who was responsible. Unfortunately, many criminals know this, and they cover their faces with scarves or masks when committing crimes. That makes it extremely difficult to identify them on video.
The other issue with this situation is that the criminal has already broken in before the footage is viewed. This is true even for cameras that have a remote option. For instance, some cameras are connected to an alarm or a motion sensor. If this device is triggered, the administrator will receive a notification on their phone or tablet telling them that there’s an incident.
They can then use their device to watch footage from the security cameras. Unfortunately, at this point, the criminals have already broken into the site.
Even when criminals aren’t able to steal anything, they still cause damage with their attempts. They’ll cut through fences, break through gates, and worse. This damage is costly and time consuming to repair. That’s why it’s important to keep criminals away from the site in the first place.
Live 24/7 monitoring can accomplish this.
Since the cameras are watched at all times by trained security staff, they’ll be able to spot suspicious situations as they develop and prevent crimes before they happen. For example, if agents see someone sneaking around outside the gates of your construction yard, they can use the system’s two-way speakers to communicate with the person.
At this point, they’ll let them know that they’re being watched by trained security professionals, inform them that they must leave the scene immediately, and tell them that the police will be called if they do not comply.
This is a much more powerful deterrent than unmonitored cameras. Criminals do not want to be caught in the act. They know if the police are called while they’re on the property, there’s a good chance they’re going to be caught. Rather than risk attempting a crime at this point, they tend to leave the scene immediately. This protects your property and keeps your site safe.
Other Options Compared to Security Cameras in Yard Protection
While monitored cameras hold a clear advantage over unmonitored ones, it’s also worthwhile to compare them to other security tools. While alarm systems are another passive form of security (meaning that nothing happens until a crime has already been committed), onsite security guards are more active. They can spot situations as they develop and intervene.
However, security guards cannot be everywhere at once, nor can they see everything that happens at a site. This means there will always be something that they miss. Live monitoring systems can be installed so they can watch over an entire property at all times. In many cases, they can do this in a much more cost-effective manner as well. Plus, cameras cannot be overwhelmed, intimidated, or threatened by criminals.
For more information on live monitored security cameras in yard situations, and how live remote monitoring services protect properties and keep businesses safe, please do not hesitate to contact Birdseye Security Solutions today. As a North American leader in remote monitoring and facility supervision, we can help keep your truck yard, warehouse, construction site, or any other large property safe and secure.