VIDEO SURVEILLANCE & SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEMS VANCOUVER B.C. CANADA

Digital video surveillance camera & security access control systems. Vancouver B.C. Canada

Serving Greater Vancouver BC, Canada, Burnaby, Surrey, Richmond, Coquitlam

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STRATA & APARTMENT BUILDING SECURITY

SERVING GREATER VANCOUVER, CANADA

When it comes to strata and apartment buildings in general, the perpetrators fall into three basic categories. Insiders, outsiders, and people in between. They would be people with some connection/knowledge/access to the building. Friends of residents, the paper boy, contractors employees etc... For the average decent sized mid priced complex with a poor level of internal security systems, usually about half of the problems, theft and property damage comes from one or two or three bad apples that live in the building.

It is helpful to have systems in place that deal effectively with all three types of potential perps. Things like access control systems and security camera systems are so very use full, in so many ways. Not only that, but they are almost always an extremely profitable little investment for the owners. When you take the amount of a system and divide it by the number of suites, it usually works out to a one time investment of between $100 to $300 per suite. It likely adds several thousand dollars to the market value of each suite.

A good or above average level of security is worth something to potential purchasers and existing residents. That is one of the main reasons that almost all residential strata complexes built in the last 10 or 12 years or so, have at least something in the way of a security camera system and access control installed during initial construction. The developers know what the numbers look like.

That being said, the developers usually provide fairly minimal sized systems. After the new owners/residents have moved in, they often want to expand the camera system and or add access control to several more doors.

ELECTRONIC ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS

As you may already know, a card or fob/clicker is like a high tech key. The administrator or manager can assign or delete fobs/people from the system. If someone loses their fob it can be deleted so that any person finding it can't use it. People can be given access only to specific doors with customized restricted access times of day and dates. This is use full for amenity rooms, gyms, storage locker rooms etc....

You have an audit trail record of whose fob was used on any door, along with the time and date. The audit trail by it's self doesn't show you who did the deed, although often it can narrow down the list of suspects, if the perp used a fob to get into a secured room. When you have the audit trail along with the video evidence then you really have something. If you have the overhead gate into the underground parking integrated into the access control system, the same features apply to the gate.

DIGITAL VIDEO SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEMS

Having a good quality, good sized camera system with coverage in all the key areas of the property has many benefits:

DETERRENT EFFECT. The perpetrators tend to shy away from hard targets and gravitate towards easier looking targets. Outsider potential perps would likely look around the outside of the property first and size things up. If you have several armor dome cameras visible in key areas it helps make the property look like a hard target. Actually the camera system has even more deterrent effect on insiders and people in between, as they realize that they most likely would be recognized.

LIVE MONITORING. You have live monitoring options at the control centre, via the cable TV system, and via the internet. The manager or council can decide how many cameras and what specific grid pattern is broadcast on the TV security channel. With a large system there are often a couple of cameras that are considered "private" where you have some deterrent effect and recording but not broadcasting on the TV system. Only people with the IP address, user name and password can view the cameras via the internet. They can view the live or recorded video in full size pictures or a number of multi camera grid options. There are also different levels of access that can be given to people. The live monitoring options are like a high tech neighborhood watch. If, for example, a resident sees a perp opening up the whole bank of mail boxes, they can call the police and give a description including the colour of their clothes. The police respond very quickly to a mail theft in progress.

RECORDING. The recording helps identify the perp after the crime has been committed and gives you some security intelligence. If it was an insider you can usually get some restitution/compensation and or perhaps get rid of them. If it was an outsider you can often determine how or where they got in, and close off your weak spots. If it was a serious crime the police may make an effort to find the person responsible.

The benefits of a good camera system go beyond security. One of the common problems in condominium and apartment complexes is people dumping illegal garbage like old stoves, fridges, furniture, etc... The city garbage man won't take it and the strata or property owner pays to have it removed. With proper video coverage the person responsible is billed. Every once in a while a resident tries to zoom under the gate as it is closing, and the top of their vehicle hits the gate at 10 or 20 miles an hour and mangles the gate costing several thousand dollars to repair or replace. In the absence of video evidence the strata/owners end up paying for it. With proper video evidence the resident responsible is made to pay. There are all kinds of examples where the camera system helps recover money from the person responsible for the damage.

Good video coverage often helps increase the productivity of onsite managers and cleaning staff. It gives council or the property owner a record of when they come and go and to some degree what they are doing on the job. It also gives you a record of when contractors come and go.

We have considerable experience with condominium and apartment complexes in greater Vancouver, Canada.

DOMINION SECURITY Inc.
CCTV DIGITAL VIDEO SURVEILLANCE & SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEMS. INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS & INTERCOMS.

Sales, service, and professional installations at reasonable prices.