Shoplifting for Christmas Gifts? !!
A closed circuit television and digital video recording system – CCTV & DVR, when designed and installed properly can help prevent shoplifting and other crime at your location, especially at holiday time when stores are jammed full of frenzied people.
During the Christmas and New Year celebration season in BC’s Lower Mainland, not only are there more customers in retail locations, many store shelves are stocked with a wide variety of new electronic gear, a lure for not only professional thieves, but also people who never, or only very rarely steal.
Unfortunately, due to the recession, product shrinkage is increasing at all times of the year. Desperate people do desperate things, and shoplifting is high on the list.
Statistics reveal that unless you are a professional thief, most people do not plan to shoplift. Many times, when an opportunity presents itself shoplifters act spontaneously, especially when they do NOT see an active security system, or when they see a weak security camera setup they think they can easily beat.
It’s also important to note that selling stolen property in cities like Vancouver, Surrey, and Richmond has grown easier due to internet sites like Craigslist. It’s relatively easy today to place an ad on a site like Kijiji, or even one of the free boards managed by community newspapers and move goods quickly. All these sites make an effort to prevent stolen property from being posted, but it is an overwhelming task.
New technology also abounds in the security camera systems field, which makes it even harder to choose the right hardware and configuration. Retailers in British Columbia are overloaded with options, but many choices unfortunately will not deliver an acceptable ROI. The types of security camera equipment and installations are endless, from IP, IR, covert, vandal proof, domed, high mount, low mount, wireless, video analytics, and the list goes on and on. Knowing what to purchase and then how to properly install a security camera system becomes more complex every day.
The days of the ONE or TWO camera system are over.
Retailers who rely on only one camera at each register or main door delude themselves into thinking they are protected. Granted, having a camera and DVR setup capturing an obvious position does intimidate shoplifters when they know they are being watched, but what really matters is to record them in the act of concealing your merchandise and leaving the store. One camera can’t do this for you, even at a small location.
Well placed, quality CCTV and DVR security systems spread cameras strategically throughout your location and capture video of what looks like a customer innocently picking up an item, maybe walking around with it for a while, but then they conceal it before they leave your premises. The only way to capture criminal activity is to place cameras in a variety of key locations and also at the right height to clearly capture suspicious activity. It is a balancing act though – too few cameras and you miss the theft, and too many and you overload your system.
Many shoplifters also wear hoodies or baseball caps to shield their faces, so getting your security camera lens down low is the only way to capture an image that will be acceptable in court. If you can’t clearly see the perpetrator’s face, the chance of getting a conviction is considerably reduced.
Sometimes you need to let potential thieves know their actions are being captured, and at other times you need to be more covert. Hidden cameras, or even cameras disguised as common objects are effective in capturing a crime that would be impossible to witness firsthand by you or your staff.
A sure way to give a thief the confidence they need to rob or shoplift from you is to install a poor quality system, and then also include a monitor they can see. You know the type, they’re usually black and white and fuzzy. A thief takes one glance at the monitor and realises immediately that even if your camera catches him in the act, there is little chance anyone, even his mother, will be able to recognize, let alone decisively identify him.
A poorly designed and installed security camera / DVR system is like
putting up an electronic billboard that says, “FREE MERCHANDISE!”
On the other hand, a well designed and installed security camera and recording systems pays for itself many times over, not only in court convictions and the return of stolen goods, but also, when a criminal knows the odds of getting caught are too great at your location . . . they go next door to your neighbour.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
A good CCTV & DVR system can increase profit
and improve your competitive advantage.
