Trying to keep your car dealership secure and profitable is challenging with the rapid changes in the economy. Threats from natural disasters, thieves, and vandals make things even harder. Many car dealerships turn to security firms to patrol the lot. However, these on premises patrols are expensive, and are not always the most effective solution. More and more dealerships are leveraging the power of technology and turning to video surveillance systems backed by remote guards.
How Video Surveillance Remote Guards Work
The single most cost effective way to reduce losses from theft and vandalism is to use video surveillance backed by remote guards. In this system, state of the art cameras are strategically placed by experts to ensure the entire car lot is being monitored. The feed from these cameras is sent to a Real Time Operations Center (RTOC) and to your tablet or mobile device. You decide when you want the staff at the RTOC to be monitoring the cameras. You are able to monitor the feed to your lot at any time from your mobile device.
When an intruder or suspicious activity is detected local police are immediately dispatched to the scene.
When done correctly, you only pay a monthly subscription fee for the cameras and monitoring. You have no large upfront capital expenses. The presence of the cameras will often lower insurance premiums and often deter more crime and vandalism than physical guards.
Disadvantages of Relying on Physical Patrols
For many dealerships the first option in preventing theft and vandalism is to hire a security firm to patrol the lot at night. This is when most theft and vandalism occur. However, these patrols have several major disadvantages. They are expensive. Because of the costs associated with security patrols, most dealerships only have one officer on staff at any time.
This usually means that vast areas of the lot are unprotected at any time. Consider that in as little as 90 seconds an experienced thief can make off with a catalytic converter. In five minutes you could lose thousands of dollars even with security patrols all because they were not in the right position to see the intruders. Even if guard does see the thief, with only one guard on duty, it is easy for the thief to escape or to use a partner to create a diversion.
With the right camera system, the moment suspicious activity is detected the police are sent to intercept the threat. These trained professionals know who they are looking for and where to find them because they are getting real time information from the RTOC.
Thieves may be able to time the rounds of your guards, but they cannot avoid the network of cameras constantly monitoring your dealership.
While the guards are often too expensive to have around except at night, the cameras are always on. They can also be used to monitor suspicious activity of employees or customers during the day. Cameras never get tired and never call in sick.
If you are serious about the security of your car dealership and want to cut your security costs by as much as 20-50%, check out the Remote Video Surveillance options that Smart Security Pros‘ provide. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_cta h2=”” shape=”square”]SMART Security Pros is a provider of armed security services utilizing only active/retired/prior law enforcement officers as well as Remote Guard Video Surveillance services. Shawn Scarlata is the Founder/CEO and the author of this post.
