Businesses are taking proactive steps to mitigate exposure to incidents, including break-ins and robberies.
In the past, security guards were mainly deployed to physically patrol premises, while more enterprising companies would also bolster these steps by using closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to monitor their property from control rooms located on their site.
An inherent weakness with this approach was the over-reliance on people, who do commit errors and can be dishonest.
For example, guards have fallen asleep during their shifts and they have colluded with criminals, contributing towards the staggering 90% of attacks on local businesses that are facilitated by information or assistance gained from within companies.
Businesses would later counter these weaknesses by experimenting with off-site monitoring technologies and capabilities, and the very successful outcomes have paved the way forward for what would become one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of the security industry.
Trusted specialists in the field, such as Havensec Solutions, are being appointed by companies to monitor all security points on their premises simultaneously.
This round-the-clock surveillance is being undertaken off-site from cutting-edge control rooms to significantly improve visibility and control, including threat verification and response times.
The company’s operators are very skilled in observing, interpreting, predicting, anticipating and evaluating potential threats, before ensuring instant and appropriate action is taken once a real risk has been identified.
These capabilities are bolstered by Havensec Solutions’ own extensive experience working with high-quality CCTV video surveillance cameras, which feature, among others, night vision, motion activation and sound recording.
The company also continues to advise its customers on how best to use these cameras, which can be panned and zoomed to further investigate potential threats, while providing an ability to view sites from various angles to eliminate blind spots.
This important footage can also be used as evidence and to bolster existing security strategies, while visible cameras also act as a deterrent to would-be thieves to help prevent burglaries.
Importantly, remote site monitoring has also proved to be a more cost-effective solution than deploying additional guards without compromising security. This is a major advantage considering the large investments already made by companies into strengthening security and the increasingly challenging economic environment in which they are operating.
However, businesses will have to remain vigilant, considering that attacks against businesses are being perpetuated by professional and habitual criminals who are extremely well organised, skilled and financed.
The retail sector, as well as banks and ATMs are among those that remain extremely vulnerable to these syndicates who are increasingly also in pursuit of large quantities of money, mirrored by the recent spike in cash-in-transit-related crimes in the country.
This is contrary to popular belief that the many business-related crimes are largely associated with the unacceptably high poverty levels in South Africa.
Havensec Solutions’ clients understand that the decisions they make today will impact on their organisation’s sustainability over the long-term.
They have, therefore, chosen to partner a security specialist with extensive experience, cutting-edge equipment and infrastructure, as well as skills to develop and implement a comprehensive and tailor-made security strategy for their unique needs.
Havensec Solutions’ expertise encompasses personal body guarding, armed escorts, surveillance and information gathering, debugging of private and office spaces, covert cameras, undercover agents and polygraphs, as well as private and civil investigations.
Combined, they create an integrated security framework that provides stronger protection to the real threats that modern businesses continue to face!