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DVMR solution latest crime detection weapon from GE Infrastructure's Security division

Today's digital CCTV systems provide retailers with advanced weapons in battling crime, saving management valuable time in investigating common sources of shrinkage, such as sweethearting, no sales, purchases and substitute scanning at the point of sale.

By using these solutions, loss prevention personnel can determine whether or not a transaction was genuine - or a costly fraud - within seconds.

"Besides recording high resolution, extremely sharp digital images that capture detailed images of faces, numbers and small objects, a combination digital video multiplexer/recorder (DVMR) also captures the text that appears on a customer's receipt. It then associates it with the corresponding video and records all on internal hard drives," says Brett Birch, managing director of GE Infrastructure's Security division in South Africa.

"To investigate a suspicious transaction, loss prevention personnel simply enter receipt text, such as no sale, void, return or certain brand names. The DVMR retrieves the associated video and transaction text immediately, eliminating time wasted previously viewing hours of videotape or using other analog recording methods," he continues.

According to Birch, personnel can also search by register, time, date or motion in a target area and view the POS text as they review images. Importantly, users can zoom in or change contrast and brightness without altering the original image.

"When displaying receipt text, a separate window is displayed, similar to that of a scrolling cash register receipt. The window can be sized to display as many lines as the monitor will display. The system also allows users to easily review playback video and focus on specific transactions. By freezing the display, users can also highlight the desired receipt text lines, bring up the images associated with that text, and print out both the selected text and image," Birch says.

Evidently, the digital solution simplifies investigations by making images available wherever and whenever needed, whether on the far side of the building or other side of the nation.

"Disputes can be investigated and resolved quickly. The DVMR can also be plugged into a computer network or connected to a standard phone line. Multiple POS locations can be searched from a single DVMR; or loss prevention personnel can instantly access and view live or recorded video from any networked POS terminal using any personal computer in the organisation's network."

Once recorded, video clips from the DVMR can be shared with other loss prevention personnel, human resources, management or even law enforcement.

"Users simply use their PCs to click and drag to the selected video, save the clip and then copy it to a CD. Other users, without needing any special software of their own, can view the clip immediately on their own computer systems," he comments.

To efficiently store images, users typically record in a time-lapse mode, such as every four seconds. However, when transaction text is input, the drawer opens, a scan is made or merchandise is rung up, the recording speed can be programmed to automatically record more frames of video, which makes viewing easier. Some users even prefer to record in realtime to see clearly what is happening at the point-of-sale when a transaction is taking place.

"Loss prevention personnel can configure settings for each camera individually. For instance, one camera can record continuously in time-lapse mode while a second camera records only when the DVMR detects motion in its field. A third camera could be configured to record only when a cashier swipes a card to activate a cash register," Birch suggests.

Apparently, cameras viewing the register can record both during transactions and in between. In one scenario, the register camera is set for time-lapse plus event recording, which is based upon the presence of transaction text. Time-lapse recording is set for recording an image every two to four seconds. However, when transaction text occurs, the event-recording rate can increase to at least one to two images per second.

"For better hard drive management, the register camera can employ a combination of time-lapse, activity and event recording. Time-lapse recording is kept at a very slow rate, such as an image every 50 to 100-plus seconds. However, whenever there is motion in the scene, the activity-recording rate increases, perhaps up to an image every two seconds. Yet, whenever there is transaction text, recording of one to two images per second is instituted," Birch concludes.

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