Security Officers or CCTV; Which is more effective?

Crime is a huge problem for businesses and with criminals becoming smarter and more confident it is important to ensure that you take the correct security measures to protect your business.

Choosing the right security solution for your business can often be a difficult process and it often comes down to choosing between security officers or CCTV, but which is the most effective method of protecting your business?

Security Officers

Security officers can be a highly effective method of protecting a business premises and act as a strong visual deterrent that can prevent crime before it begins. As well as this, many security officers are now trained professionals, many of whom have done protection work before.

This ensures that you, as a business owner, can have peace of mind in knowing that your business is in capable hands.

Having security officers protecting your premises has a variety of advantages and is often the more cost effective option when you evaluate the cost against the service provided. These advantages include but are not limited to:

• Less false alarms – any potential threats to your business can be investigated swiftly and therefore the risk of false alarms is significantly reduced.
• Multi-sensory response – officers can often hear break-ins before any evidence can be seen via CCTV and can also react to potential issues such as gas leaks and spillages.
• Flexible – security officer patrols can be highly specific to your business needs and can be increased or decreased if necessary.
• Personal – whilst choosing a security firm may be difficult initially, you will eventually build up a trust with the company you are working with and will understand how they operate, this is often not the case with CCTV, especially with more advanced systems.
• Action – security officers are well within their rights to take action against criminal offenders and threats to your business and can often stop crime as it is happening rather than just monitoring the situation as it unfolds.

It is clear that having security officers can be a highly effective method of securing your business premises and it is often the experience that comes with security officers that make them a more viable choice for businesses.

However, there are some drawbacks to having security officers over CCTV which must be considered when choosing how to protect your business, these are:

• Cost – having security officers can be quite costly in the long term however there are no expensive maintenance costs.
• Vulnerable areas – depending on how extensive your security is it is likely that there will still be some vulnerable areas as officers can only be in one place at a time.

CCTV

The advancements in CCTV now make it a common option for protecting business premises and electronic security systems are now more sophisticated than ever allowing them to record in HD quality at all times of the day.

Furthermore, finding a reputable CCTV company with the right credentials to suit your business can be relatively easy and allows you, the business owner, to secure your premises at short notice. Some of the other advantages of CCTV include:

• A visible deterrent – the sight of CCTV cameras is enough to prevent criminals from attacking your business.
• Recorded evidence – should an incident occur there will be recorded evidence available to present to the authorities and your insurance company if necessary.
• Adaptability –systems can be linked with existing alarm systems and access control systems to add further security to your premises.

However, CCTV isn’t without its drawbacks and it is important to be aware of the potential downfalls of CCTV especially when the security of your business is involved. Some of the drawbacks of using CCTV as a security system include:

• False alarms – false alarms can be a significant problem with CCTV especially if they are attached to motion sensors that trigger an alarm.
• Maintenance – as with all technology CCTV systems require regular maintenance and can break easily and hacked into if someone knows what they are doing.
• Inside jobs – it is likely, depending on the scale of your business, that many people will know the intricacies of your CCTV system which can be an issue especially if employees are fired or become untrustworthy.
• Blind spots – it is almost impossible for CCTV cameras to cover every inch of your business premises especially on larger sites with lots of obstacles, this creates blind spots that criminals can exploit to avoid being detected by the cameras.

Furthermore, a high quality CCTV system can be expensive especially for smaller businesses and as criminals are becoming more confident they are beginning to ignore security cameras or find ways around them making CCTV less effective than it once was.

So which method is more effective? Both methods of securing your business have the benefits and drawbacks and a combination of both is an ideal option if possible.

However, that being said, it is evident that the use of security officers is a better option when compared to CCTV as there are fewer drawbacks to this method and a business owner can easily understand what is going on, especially with a company they trust.

Furthermore, security officers have a stronger impact on the security of a premises as they have the ability to prevent crime as they see it – something which cannot be matched by CCTV.

Get in Touch

If you believe your business could benefit from Security Officers or CCTV, feel free to get in touch with our team! We can advise you on which service could benefit your business, depending on your requirements and needs.