The Great Outdoors

Wireless surveillance provides liability protection, safe passage in outdoor environments without breaking the bank.

Outdoor perimeters are a challenge to secure, period. Why, you ask? Quite simply, these areas vary greatly in size, geographic make-up and location, and they cannot be ignored because they serve as access points to retail locations, corporate offices and municipal properties, among others. As with indoor environments, it is a property owner’s responsibility to provide security controls to manage and monitor potential issues. If a business fails to provide the tools needed to maintain safety, it could be liable if an on-site incident occurs and property is damaged or an individual is injured. Therefore, providing surveillance coverage of these areas not only enhances security but is useful in gathering evidence to manage liability issues. By expanding the use of surveillance around business and city perimeters, business owners can mitigate losses, speed up investigations and limit liability. For example, if an employee reports he injured himself near the loading dock due to unsafe work conditions, investigators can use surveillance data to determine what actually happened.

From legal and safety perspectives, it makes perfect sense to increase the coverage of a surveillance network to cover perimeters, but deploying a surveillance system in outdoor or remote areas once came with exorbitant costs due to the trenching, power and cabling requirements needed to install a system in these locations. But those costs are now a thing of the past.

New IP-based surveillance solutions leverage advanced wireless protocols and solar power to allow property owners to extend the reach of their surveillance system without the expense. Innovations in wireless enable the delivery of fully self-contained wireless video cameras that allow for placement anywhere because the devices are, by definition, not constrained by wires or cables. These systems incorporate directional antennas for reliable and long-range operation. Many also support 3G/4G networks to maximize system uptime in case of a network failure.

Video surveillance plays an important role in monitoring activity, reducing crime and optimizing operations in outdoor environments. The integration of wireless, outdoor surveillance cameras enables property owners and security teams to gather detailed data on an incident while providing personnel with the ability to make an assessment of a situation in real time to determine the appropriate response.

Outdoor surveillance systems act as a significant deterrent to criminals and provide reassurance to customers and employees. A wireless surveillance system cultivates a more secure environment at a cost much less than found with traditional security camera systems. At the end of the day, it is an owner’s responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment to protect brand identity, limit safety concerns and mitigate liability.

This article originally appeared in the October 2012 issue of Security Today.

About the Author

John Graham is the vice president of sales and marketing at MicroPower Technologies.

Featured

  • Freedom of Choice

    In today's security landscape, we are witnessing a fundamental transformation in how organizations manage digital evidence. Law enforcement agencies, campus security teams, and large facility operators face increasingly complex challenges with expanding video data, tightening budget constraints and inflexible systems that limit innovation. Read Now

  • Accelerating a Pathway

    There is a new trend touting the transformational qualities of AI’s ability to deliver actionable data and predictive analysis that in many instances, seems to be a bit of an overpromise. The reality is that very few solutions in the cyber-physical security (CPS) space live up to this high expectation with the one exception being the new generation of Physical Identity and Access Management (PIAM) software – herein recategorized as PIAM+. Read Now

  • Protecting Your Zones

    It is game day. You can feel the crowd’s energy. In the parking lot. At the gate. In the stadium. On the concourse. Fans are eager to party. Food and merchandise vendors ready themselves for the rush. Read Now

  • Street Smarts

    The ongoing acceptance of AI and advanced data analytics has allowed surveillance camera technology to shift from being a tactical tool to a strategic business solution. Combining traditional surveillance technology with AI-based data-driven insights can streamline transportation systems, enhance traffic management, improve situational awareness, optimize resource allocation and streamline emergency response procedures. Read Now

  • Midtown Manhattan Shooting Kills 4, Including NYPD Officer

    Four people were killed, including a NYPD officer, in a midtown Manhattan shooting on Monday. That’s according to CNN. Read Now

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.