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Three levels of security

Security or operations managers should be aware that there are three levels that need to be protected when designing a physical security programme. These include the outer perimeter, the inner perimeter and the interior.

The outer perimeter is defined by the actual property lines. In securing the outer perimeter the objective is to control who can walk or drive onto the property. In deciding the type of perimeter security to implement, one needs to weigh the risk of an intruder entering the property with the cost of the available security measures. Criminals like to feel in control as they enter and exit the property. The perception is then one of lower risk. A way to deter criminals is to use natural access control, which includes building, and landscape features. The idea is to guide people as they enter and exit an area. This can also prove useful to block any potential escape routes.

The use of territorial reinforcement can effectively prevent unauthorised entry by creating a clear distinction between public and private property. By adopting this distinction, legitimate occupants have a sense of ownership and will notice any perpetrators who will have a hard time blending in.

The inner perimeter includes doors, windows and walls of a building. Traditional methods used to protect these include locks and keys, or proximity readers with access tags and cards. A common problem is loss of control of access media, which includes these keys, access tags and cards. Recent developments have seen the increased usage of biometric readers which read some type of unique human feature such as fingerprints. The advantage of these systems is the inability to do buddy clocking.

Selecting IP

Commercial security solution providers should seriously consider an IP-based system when designing a surveillance system. The uptake of megapixel IP camera utilisation has seen the price of these systems dropping over recent times. Studies have shown that the total cost of ownership of an IP solution of 32 cameras is actually cheaper than a similar 32 camera analogue system.

Of course, the resolution of the IP solution is better (currently a magnitude of 10 times). The higher resolution of the megapixel allows for a certain amount of digital zooming without picture degradation. This makes identification of an intruder or perpetrator a lot more reliable as well as having a better chance of the video footage standing up in court as legitimate evidence. There is also less cable (about one-third) required when compared to analogue.

Video analytics are proving to be an important factor in the future implementation of video surveillance. Surveillance systems are becoming larger with the count of cameras regularly exceeding 100 cameras on an average commercial site. It is impossible for an operator to monitor all the cameras all the time. Video analytics can be implemented to overcome this issue.

For example, a surveillance system can be set up to do a ‘screen pop’ when a restricted area has been entered. Any surveillance platform (example NVR or DVR) will allow you to record and store video on cost-effective hard drives. The point has been reached where the amount of video storage has exceeded the ability to analyse. Video analytics can also help in this aspect. For example, an intelligent search option will allow the operator to search through hours of video and only list the incidences where people entered a building. Typical types of video analytics include general motion, missing object, camera occlusion, foreign object, focus lost and signal loss.

The technologies used in providing perimeter and interior security can and should overlap (for example cameras can be used on the perimeter or inside the buildings). The effectiveness of security technology is the ability to ensure a safe environment. However, only implementing one technology in each of the three levels can present the possibility of a security breach. Security or operations managers should look at implementing two or three measures at each level.

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