Securing The Perimeter

• By Rolland Trayte
• Mar 23, 2011

Security technology is valuable at deterring criminal and illegal behavior. It is proven that the visible addition of security cameras to high-crime areas reduces criminal activity significantly.

But video surveillance isn’t the only valuable service or system to effectively reduce crime. The presence of security guards also limits illicit activity that leads to loss or damage and regular visible patrols restricts the opportunity for violence.

Both solutions are effective in the prevention of crime, but there are limitations to these methods. Video surveillance is often not monitored in real-time and many times, no action is taken to stop an incident before it occurs.

At the same time, the role of a security guard has expanded as officers are tasked with more duties on job sites than ever before. Proprietary security teams engage security guards for a variety of tasks including conducting regular patrols, greeting visitors, managing access identities and badges, and investigating suspicious incidents. The increased purview makes it difficult for even the most trained security guard to manage all tasks to the best of their ability.

Automated Perimeter Detection Solutions
The combination of security guard patrols and surveillance cameras is an ideal solution for perimeter security applications that can encompasses miles of terrain. However, monitoring video and conducting patrols 24/7 is cost prohibitive. Perimeter detection technologies that mimic the actions of a security guard are a cost-effective solution that can be used to prevent crime before it occurs. A system that engages in the same motions and movements of a security guard enables security teams to focus on more critical tasks and also acts as a force multiplier.

Automated perimeter detection solutions are developed on the idea that intelligent technologies can prevent and deter potentially criminal activity before loss or damage occurs, while decreasing response time. These solutions can be used to enhance perimeter security and safety in the government, commercial, transportation, education and critical infrastructure markets, and in real-world applications, are proven to reduce criminal activity by as much as 90 percent in high-crime environments.

By leveraging advanced algorithms, automated perimeter detection systems automatically identify potentially dangerous targets within 700 feet, and tracks objects to deter criminal behavior.

Once it detects motion in a user-defined area, the system illuminates activity with a high-intensity LED light. It will then rotate to and from the activity zone. Once motion is no longer detected, it will conduct an area-wide search. If no additional movement is found, the system will conduct regular patrols of an area, scanning for unusual behavior.

The system mimics the actions of a security guard to deter criminal behavior before loss or damage occurs.

Challenging the Perimeter
Vulnerability begins at a facility’s perimeter. The best chance of preventing a security breach is to deter and detect activity before loss or damage occurs. Yet many attempts at automated perimeter detection, such as video analytics, are limited due to excessive false alarms and the challenges of outdoor conditions, including weather and environmental factors. Automated perimeter detection solutions are reliable in all weather situations. It uses robust exterior PIR sensors to detect activity, and wirelessly report changes in activity.

This solution is effective at preventing crime because of the inherent nature of its functionality. When a potential intruder realizes a guard has seen him, the reaction is to leave the scene before the criminal is captured.

Automated detection technologies have the same effect. Once it detects movement in its area of protection and it shines its high-intensity light, subjects retreat because they are aware they have been detected and most likely, their actions captured on video. The system’s capability to distinguish movement in a wide geographic area makes coverage effective and reliable.

Because each environment offers unique challenges depending on its business processes and threat profiles, automated perimeter detection solutions have a customizable field of protection to enable users to define the size of the area it system searches. Furthermore, the system’s automated tracking patterns are also customizable and easy to adapt as a user’s risk profile changes.

The Combination of Security Personnel, Technology
When guards are well trained and dedicated, they are an integral piece of a facility’s security program. Today, guards increasingly rely on the help of integrated security technologies to boost the benefits of regular security patrols. Technologies, such as automated perimeter detection solutions, enable guards to focus on critical tasks rather than patrolling areas with no visible threat.

When automated perimeter detection solutions are combined with video surveillance, an enhanced level of situational awareness is provided to enhance guard and emergency responder safety when a violent incident occurs. The guard is then able to view video footage that corresponds with an event before deploying the correct level of response.

Automated perimeter detection systems are not meant to replace security guards; rather they are designed to augment their critical functions. Technologies such as this can be used to patrol a perimeter while guards are empowered to provide other value-added security services. When you combine highly trained security officers with automated detection systems, a facility is safer, more secure and less vulnerable.

An automated perimeter detection solution is an effective way to prevent crime but it becomes a forensic tool when combined with video surveillance cameras. The combined solution is then truly proactive and reactive, enabling security teams to stop activity and investigate the underlying cause.

Remote video monitoring is also another valuable option. The addition of this functionality enables users to monitor the solution from an offsite location. Whatever additional capabilities are needed, a robust automated perimeter detection solution can be integrated with a variety of edge devices to provide a comprehensive, best-of-breed security solution that delivers immediate return-on-investment, reduces loss and enhances safety.