Asset Protection

Camera surveillance is probably the most common tool used for protection of various types of assets against intentional or unintentional damage or theft. The largest usage segment is probably the retailing business, where cameras are used for loss prevention. Other important segments are museums, public buildings and corporate offices where valuable goods can be seized or harmed. Outdoors, camera surveillance is used in prevention of car thefts and vandalism such as graffiti.

Loss Prevention is essential for the retail business

The principle objective of loss prevention is to preserve profit by reducing losses to the retailer. The percentage of shrinkage among merchandises is normally between 1% and 2%, which is a significant part of the retailer’s profit. The main causes of shrinkage are shoplifting, employee theft and various types of operational errors.

The obvious benefit of camera surveillance is that the investigators can gain a better view of a suspect and record incidents without revealing themselves to the suspects. When a shoplifter is detected, a floor person follows the suspect and apprehends him.

Clothing is among the most popular targets for shoplifters.

Integration maximizes the effect of cameras

Several other ways and means of minimizing shrinkage are used in the retail environment. Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) tags activate the alarm pedestals at the cash registers and store exits. Mirasys VMS can easily be integrated with the EAS systems in order to automatically display images from the activated gate – the images can even be viewed on a mobile device which helps in an immediate apprehension of the suspect.

Another important way of fighting losses is Exception Based Reporting (XBR) which is based on mining of the Point-of-Sales (POS) data in order to find patterns or anomalies pointing to employee theft or sweethearting. A surveillance camera installed at the register can record all that goes on at site. Integration of Mirasys VMS with the POS system allows easy visual verification of any suspicious event.

 

A combination of POS data mining and camera surveillance reveals anomalies.

Cameras protect valuable items

Many museums have suffered losses as valuable paintings and other items have disappeared from the walls and vitrines. The thieves of high-value items are masters of their trade, and maximum efforts are necessary for protection.

Integration of Mirasys VMS with proximity sensors and implementation of Video Analytics such as digital tripwire increase the security significantly.

 

Video Analytics is useful in preventing art thefts.