Calgary has seen a 15% increase in business break-ins over the past three years. Retail stores, offices, warehouses, and other locations report thousands of incidents annually. Construction site thefts are also rampant, with tens of millions in equipment and materials stolen each year.
How are businesses supposed to keep up with the rising threat levels? Security companies in Calgary, AB are working quickly to provide the solutions they need to secure their assets. Here’s how.
Financial & Personal Impacts Are Severe
The financial toll of these break-ins and thefts cause severe hardship for business owners and contractors. Many smaller operations struggle to stay afloat after pricey remediation and replacements costs. Owners also suffer personally with lost sleep and heightened anxiety over site security concerns.
Live Video Monitoring Provides Protection
Implementing reliable, real-time video security camera systems at Calgary business locations and construction sites has become extremely vital. Live monitoring deters criminals, helps prevent incidents, and provides video evidence to aid police investigations after breaches.
Security Threats Facing Calgary Sites
Brazen Criminals Target Untended Sites
Sophisticated theft rings have shifted to aggressively targeting unattended commercial and industrial locations in Calgary. Groups have studied weaknesses in security, staking out sites for weeks to establish patterns. Cargo container thefts, warehouse break-ins, and vacant office building takeovers have all risen sharply recently.
Millions Lost in Equipment & Metals Theft
Construction equipment like bobcats and lifts are prized targets, with heavy machinery that can be quickly disassembled for parts or resold by thieves out of province or overseas.
Site boxes are raided for tools, with hundreds of drills, saws and other gear stolen daily across Calgary builds. Metals like copper wiring are also primary targets during both housing construction and commercial retrofits.
Benefits of Live Video Monitoring
Real-Time Notifications & Analysis Capabilities
Live monitoring platforms utilize smart motion sensing technology to instantly detect breaches and send notifications to business owners’ devices. Sophisticated systems can even analyze human and vehicle shapes to reduce false alerts from wildlife or weather impacts. Operator teams can examine live feeds to confirm and escalate valid security events.
Rapid & Effective Incident Response
With real-time visibility into locations, operators can enact protocols immediately during criminal incidents. Alerting authorities, sounding further alarms and other countermeasures to protect assets, safely confront perpetrators or collect identification details are enabled through live video feeds and analytics.
Supreme Camera Quality & Control
Advanced 4K camera equipment with night vision, smooth pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) abilities gives superior clarity and focus on sites under watch. Detailed images render faces, clothing details, vehicle information and tools clearly to later assist police investigations and arrests following incidents.
Types of Security Camera Setups
Wired vs Wireless Installations
Running camera endpoint cabling back to networked video recorders (NVRs) provides stability and reliability while avoiding WiFi interference issues. But wireless equipment offers more flexibility for rapid deployments or temporary surveillance needs. Hybrid approaches utilize fixed wired cameras complemented by several wireless vantage points.
Clear Night Vision Ability
Near-infrared (NIR) illumination paired with sensitive low-light image sensors allow modern cameras to see 30-60 feet in pure darkness. This night vision ability ensures sites stay fully secured after hours with critical visibility union sites that face greater nighttime risks.
Dome, Bullet & Fisheye Camera Types
Dome cameras offer more discreet ceiling-mounted surveillance. Bullet cameras directly view sites from visible, angled perches. 180 or 360-degree fisheye cameras capture full room and corner views ideal for smaller interior locations. Various lens types like wide dynamic range (WDR) also aid visibility.
Features of Advanced Video Systems
Situation Analysis from Video & Audio Feeds
Sophisticated algorithms can analyze video motion, human shapes and changes in audio levels to classify zone breaches or interference events with high accuracy. Event classification coupled with monitoring operator expertise provides unmatched situation analysis. Response decisions can be tailorted to events unfolding on camera feeds based on such analysis capabilities.
Cloud & Local Recording Modes
Digitally recording video feeds to the cloud provides offsite data protection compared to only local storage. But January’s Rogers outage that impacted police video systems highlights relying only on cloud uploads as a risk. Modern systems allow both cloud and local network video recorders (NVRs) to mitigate reliability risks. Most utilize 256-AES encryption and restrictive access controls to protect footage files wherever stored.
Machine Learning for Alert Accuracy
Over time, advanced platforms automatically train algorithms on movement patterns, operational changes and zone breach characteristics. Human operators confirm when events are security threats vs false positives, allowing ML models onboard cameras to steadily improve detection accuracies and ensure only urgent, priority alerts are escalated. This reduces noise and fatigue for monitoring teams over time.
Key Factors In Provider Selection for Security Companies in Calgary, AB
Track Record With Local Conditions
Given Calgary’s extreme weather swings from long winters to hot summers, ensuring contractors have proven exterior mount camera models and tenured experience specifically protecting local organizations is crucial. Firms using camera equipment unproven in Calgary’s climate often struggle with storm, wind and temperature-related functionality gaps.
Data Access & Cybersecurity Maturity
Video feeds that capture people, assets and security events represent extremely sensitive data streams vulnerable to misuse and cyber threats. Evaluating monitoring firm’s internal data governance policies, encryption standards, access controls and use of cybersecurity products like firewalls during selection is vital. Asking specifically what cyber protections are mandated for systems exposed online is essential.
Cost Considerations For Video Security
Equipment Expenses
While bundled offerings reduce upfront capital costs through leasing/financing options, minimum initial equipment outlays often still exceed $5,000 for even basic four-camera sets. Installation, testing and configuration add another $2,000 – $3,500 on smaller sites. Larger deployments easily cost over $20,000 for equipment alone once technologically advanced cameras, ample storage and enhanced analytics capabilities are incorporated.
Monthly Fees
Recurring monthly fees offer the most variability, starting as low as $500 for monitoring of basic camera sets but ranging up to $5,000 monthly for expansive 50+ camera systems with detailed analytics review, ongoing quality assurance and management of the deployment provided by security firms. Long term contracts spanning 2-3 years often offer 15-20% in discounted monthly rates, but lock operators into set pricing.
Live Patrol: Complete Live Security Camera Services
Selecting advanced video surveillance paired with professional live monitoring services from security companies in Calgary, AB has become an indispensable investment for Calgary businesses and construction sites facing an onslaught of brazen thefts and break-ins. Live Patrol specializes in delivering sophisticated, reliable security camera systems for local organizations that go beyond typical offerings.
Live Patrol’s customized packages include proprietary machine learning and automation capabilities allowing unprecedented situation analysis. Our company’s experienced technicians leverage this technology to deter incidents and trigger lightning-fast response protocols when breaches occur. Live Patrol takes pride in providing customers with superior video coverage, advanced analytics and timely human expertise.
Get in touch today for an assessment and Live Patrol solution recommendation tailored to your sites’ unique risks, from one of the leading security companies in Calgary, AB.
