Fight Crime and Win with a Remote Security Guard

For business owners, keeping what you’ve earned can be almost as hard as earning it in the first place. Employee theft now costs U.S. businesses 50 billion a year, hitting small to medium-sized businesses the hardest, with a median loss of $289,864. Burglary and theft are also costing business owners money, affecting 8.8 percent of small businesses a year, according to insurance provider Insureon.

One step you can take to protect yourself from crime is investing in a remote security guard service. Here are three reasons why using a virtual guard is a winning strategy for commercial property security systems.

Forensic Research

One way a virtual guard can help you is increasing your chances of recovering your stolen property through forensic research. In normal circumstances, about 1 in 10 burglaries is solved. The reason most thefts aren’t solved is that there usually aren’t any witnesses and most property isn’t catalogued so that it can be tracked when thieves attempt to resell it through venues such as pawn shops or eBay.

A security surveillance system that includes a virtual guard can increase your chances of recovering your property by providing you with a video record of the crime. When your video alarm system is activated, your remote security guard service begins producing a video recording of the crime in progress. Authorities can use this record to identify suspects as well as determine what was stolen, greatly improving your odds of property recovery. Your on-site camera may pick up details about suspects’ modus operandi, helping authorities link the burglary of your facility to other crimes in the area and making it easier to find the perpetrators.

License Plate Recording

Using a virtual guard with your video alarm system can also help authorities identify suspects by recording license plates. When investigators have a license plate number or even just a vehicle description to work with, it vastly improves their ability to identify and locate suspects. In a best case scenario, your video and alarm system may even tip off remote security monitors while the crime is in progress, enabling them to send authorities to the scene before thieves escape.

In order to record license plates effectively, it’s important to use high-quality camera equipment. Today’s best security equipment uses technology such as 4K high resolution and night vision to improve the quality of your alarm video footage, allowing you to record license plate information even in low-light conditions.

Fraction of the Cost of an On-Site Security Guard

Another advantage of using a virtual guard to monitor your video and alarm system is its cost-efficiency. The cost of installing an on-site camera and hiring a virtual guard service to monitor it is significantly less than the cost of hiring an on-site security guard. A single virtual guard worker can monitor multiple cameras or even multiple companies from a central location, making them more cost-efficient to employ than traditional guards.

Virtual guard services are also cost-efficient because they enable you to scale your usage to your actual needs. For instance, you can schedule virtual patrols of select spots on your facility during peak risk hours, or you can use virtual escorts to make sure employees in your parking lot stay safe when leaving your building.

Forensic research, license plate recording and cost savings are three ways that using a virtual guard can help improve commercial property security systems. A virtual guard should form part of a complete security surveillance system strategy that covers all your bases. For more information, download a copy of our ebook, The Complete Guide to Virtual Security.