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Harnessing the power of CCTV

There are many factors to be considered under the broad umbrella phrase ‘retail security’, says John Loftus, managing director of Norbain South Africa.

Firstly, the solution proposed depends largely on `who' is asking for the solution. If the customer is the retailer or restaurateur, his or her requirements will differ markedly from those of the shopping centre manager customer.

For example, says Loftus, the shop owner will, in all likelihood, be concerned about safeguarding his stock and assets against theft while the shopping centre manager is primarily concerned about protecting people and property.

And here, the word 'protect' applies to a vast array of situations, he says, protect from hijackings and theft in the car park, protect from armed robberies or hostage situations within the shopping centre, protect from natural disasters, from fires, from injury from structural collapse, for example.

Loftus maintains CCTV is one of the hardest-working tools within the retail environment. Given the almost limitless task of the retail security team, the only way it can monitor all possible scenarios is with cameras transmitting visual footage to a control room.

"Of course, 'quality of recorded video' is the most important consideration for those CCTV specialists consulting to the owners of retail property, as well as individual shop owners or managers," says Loftus. "This is because the quality of that recording is often all that stands between a successful prosecution and a mistrial.

"We are often asked why there can be such a discrepancy between the prices of a 16-camera system from one installer to another. The answer is simple - quality. Just as you would not take cardboard disposable cameras with you to record images of your dream holiday, you do not want similar quality CCTV equipment recording video of events for evidentiary purposes.

"The quality of that recording is often all that stands between a successful prosecution and a mistrial. A little more invested in the system today pays huge dividends in the future when insurance claims and court cases are at stake."

Loftus adds that, while the original purpose of CCTV within a retail environment was simply to record history, the trend today is to use surveillance systems for a wide range of secondary applications.

For example, if the shopping centre manager can prove higher traffic in certain sections of the retail mall, he can motivate for higher rentals in those areas. Other applications include process control management, till management, vehicle management systems, number plate recognition systems, point-of-sale monitoring, covert surveillance, area monitoring and video controlled access and egress systems.

These analyses are made possible thanks to the advent of IP video (IPV) systems. In an IPV system, Loftus explains, live digital CCTV images are transmitted, controlled and recorded over IP-based networks.

A typical IPV implementation would include multiple cameras connected to an IP network via transmitter/receiver modules; video and alarm management software controlling the viewing, analysis and recording of the digital video from each camera; and finally networked video recorders (NVRs) providing system-wide recording facilities.

"A critical feature of IPV compared with older-tech analog CCTV is that the heart of the system - the costly and inflexible matrix - is replaced by an extremely cost-effective and scalable 'virtual matrix', consisting of the network and the software controlling it," Loftus elaborates.

"A compelling advantage is that IPV systems operate over standard corporate networks. Because these typically span entire organisations, so can the IPV systems connected to them. This means that traditional control room equipment can be replaced by a PC, which makes it possible, and often desirable, to monitor live and recorded video from any camera from any point on the network."

For example, the Athens Olympics in 2004 used an IP backbone for the security system encompassing more than 2000 cameras across 47 venues in an area of 250 km². The cameras were accessible from 63 command centres with 1250 operators - an enterprise solution which could not have been implemented with a traditional analog system.

According to Loftus, the underlying flexibility and scalability of IPV makes it a powerful option for large enterprise systems. However, it is also ideal for smaller CCTV systems and, in particular, for upgrades to existing installations. When upgrading from an existing analog system, the obsolete equipment such as the matrix and digital video recorders can be replaced, but all the cameras, domes, monitors and keyboards can be kept.

In addition, existing control room configurations can largely remain unchanged. With the addition of a PC or two, all the advanced features of IP CCTV can be made available without the need to change the familiar surroundings of the control room.

Given these advantages, it is no wonder more and more security consultants are stipulating IPV for all types of retail security applications, he says.

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