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By Ron Lander, CPP
While touring
your campus, you stop by the student store and suddenly notice a dozen cameras
spattered along the walls of the facility. You rack your brain to figure out
if your communications center is monitoring and recording them, and then it
hits you. These are FAKE cameras. Further, you notice a large sign by the
front door that reads, “Warning: Video Monitoring In Progress.”
You ask the
manager where he got the cameras. He says he was having a shoplifting problem.
“Then I found these cameras on the Internet. I got the whole package for less
than $100,” he excitedly reports, proud of the fact he has solved a big
problem at a small price.
Or has
he?
Let’s take
this scenario a little further. The next day, two ruthless thugs rob the
store. They not only take several hundred dollars, but also severely injure an
employee and a student. The entire incident was within “view” of these
“cameras.” When the detectives ask for the videotape, the manager tells them
that the cameras are fakes. So you lost an opportunity to get video
identification of the perpetrators.
Three months
later, you and the school are sued on behalf of the injured employee and
student. In the interrogatories, you are required to provide “all audio and
video relative to the incident.” The school then has to admit the cameras were
fakes and the signs misleading. Not a very good way to start off a lawsuit.
Both the
employee and student tell their attorneys they felt safer in the store because
“they have video cameras” and “there is a sign saying so.” As the case
unfolds, it will only get worse.
Cheap
solution?
Security
professionals are often asked to provide “dummy” cameras for clients or
potential clients. This is why you can visit numerous sites with video
surveillance “coverage” that amounts to a variety of dummy cameras in all
shapes and forms.
If you enter
“dummy cameras” on an Internet search engine, you will find no fewer than 45
Web sites that offer dummy cameras for as low as $4.99!
One ad reads:
“Great price. Looks like the real thing -- fools everybody! Built-in motion
detector activates the motorized swivel action and blinking red light. To
order a Simulated Security Camera, enter a quantity in the box below and click
the ‘Add to Shopping Cart’ button.
* 1 for $4.99
* 24 for
$99.99
* Requires 2
AA Batteries.
* Add 2 AA
Batteries $2.99.”
It does not
take a lot of legal expertise to realize that such cheap dummy cameras and
accompanying misleading signs spell trouble for the property owners and
management.
Allen Pepper
of the law firm Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, LLP, says, “The concept isn't
too much different than other landlord liability cases. If the cameras don't
work [or are fake] and tenants [and visitors] of the property do believe them
to be real, there could be an issue of ‘reliance.’
“If the
tenants rely on the fact that cameras are present in either entering into a
lease in the first place or it influences their decisions regarding their use
of the premises [shopper, student or visitor], the failure to disclose that
they are dummy cameras might give rise to liability. It gives a ‘false sense
of security.’
“While dummy
cameras might be an aid as a deterrent,” Pepper says, “their use should be
carefully considered, depending upon the type of application, location, etc.”
Just imagine
the above scenario being played out in a courtroom: “Please explain to the
jury why you bought 12 $4.99 cameras to ‘protect’ our client and other
employees and visitors to the store. … Is that all you thought their safety
was worth?”
Worse yet,
imagine the plaintiff’s attorney unveiling this sign in larger-than-life-size
letters: “Great price. Looks like the real thing -- fools everybody!”
This case
would probably not even get to trial. The school would have to settle for many
times the value of an actual video surveillance system.
One exception
There is one
situation, however, when the installation of a dummy camera might be
acceptable. If a facility has the need for extensive video coverage and the
budget will allow for only a limited number of cameras, incorporating a few
fake cameras that match the others is acceptable.
However, it is
recommended that there be a written policy regarding the use of the “dummy”
camera(s) and that these “dummies” be capable of being moved (regularly, or if
a situation calls for a deterrent). There should also be a log that tracks the
use of the “dummy” camera(s). As a ballpark figure, the number of cameras
should not be more than 20 percent of the overall camera installation, and you
should have a documented request to complete the camera installation in
another budget period, with all cameras being real.
Also, be
careful when incorporating a “video monitoring” sign. If you don’t have
someone regularly watching a monitor, don’t use a sign that indicates
“monitoring in progress.” If you are only recording, use this fact in a sign.
Believe it or
not, there are CCTV installations with signs that read “Video Not Being
Recorded.” Why would you go through the trouble and expense of using video
without recording it?
When it comes
to campuses that have more than two monitors and 16 cameras, don’t be lured
into the false impression that your console operators are effectively
monitoring all cameras. Experts differ on the effective ratio of cameras to
operators. Some factors are other duties, phone traffic, overall traffic on
the monitors and time on the shift. You can tell just by observing the
operator that effective monitoring of all cameras by one operator is
impossible.
Technology
The use of
digital video in lieu of videotape has changed the security industry. It is no
longer “closed circuit.” Because of the dynamics of this new era in
surveillance, a more appropriate name is Dynamic Video Surveillance System, or
DVSS.
With most new
digital systems, virtually anyone with a computer network connection can view
video live or retrieve archived video. Also, others who previously did not
have the capability to view video can “tune into” a surveillance system. This
type of monitoring and video review can be accomplished from somewhere else on
the campus, or from anywhere in the world.
Alarm
verification, attendance tracking, marketing and facilities management are
just a few areas that this new technology is touching. Furthermore, the
nightmare of videotape storage, video recorders breaking down, and operators
forgetting to change a tape or press the “REC” button is eliminated. Some
systems can effectively record more than a month of activity on as many as 16
cameras, per system. Be careful of the technology, though. Don’t be overwhelmed by the first vendor that shows you streaming video of your site over the Internet. More than 100 companies have products that are referred to as “digital video.”
Whether you
are upgrading a few “dummy” cameras or replacing an entire video surveillance
system, be sure to conduct research to help you make an informed decision on
which vendor to choose. Ron Lander owns the security consulting firm Ultrasafe Security Specialists (www.ultra-safe.com), is a Certified Protection Professional and chairman of the Inland Empire Chapter of ASIS International. He can be contacted at rlander@ultra-safe.com
Sidebar: Monitoring Video
When it comes
to monitoring video from surveillance cameras, experts differ on the effective
ratio of cameras to console operators. Among the factors to consider:
* Operators’
other duties.
* Phone
traffic.
* Amount of
traffic on the monitors.
* Time on the
shift. |
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