Security and Surveillance Industry News

Epidemic Proportions or Media Hype?

Crime in the USA; it is all over the news these days. You cannot open a newspaper, watch television or listen to the radio without hearing shocking stories of sensational crimes taking place all over the country. According to the reports, many of these crimes are being committed by children.

As a consultant in the security industry, I have readily gotten caught up in all the hoopla surrounding the increase in violence and crime in this country. I hate to say it, but the truth is that crime is good for my business and any outbreak or measurable increase in crime helps to sell more security systems.

In doing research for this article, I came across some shocking and very surprising statistics on juvenile crime.

The following statistics are all taken from the 2006 National Report of Juvenile Offenders and Victims prepared by the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). According to the report, currently 1 in 4 residents of the United States are under 18 years old.

• Juvenile Courts handled 1.6 million delinquency cases in 2002 – up from 1.1 million in 1985.
• The age at which most murder victims are likely to be killed is 16 years old, regardless of gender.
• The number of youths under the age of 18 being held in adult jails quadrupled between 1990 and 1999.
• Over 8% of 17 year olds reported to have been in a gang, 16% have sold drugs and 16% have carried a handgun.
• The proportion of females entering the juvenile justice system for violent crimes has increased by 31% since the mid 90’s.
• 5 in 100 high school students stayed at home at least once in the past month due to fear of a school related crime.

That certainly sounds like a juvenile crime epidemic to me.

Remember what I told you before I presented you with the shocking statistics? Crime is good for my business.

Right now, I probably have you right were I want. You are thinking that juvenile crime is rampant and raging out of control, right?

As a shocking reminder that people’s perceptions of the truth can be completely skewed by the way the national media presents news and information, check out the following statistics that seem to fly in the face of what the media would have us believe.

The statistics are taken from the same OJJDP report.

• The number of juvenile homicides in 2002 was 44% below the peak year of 1993, and at its lowest level since the mid 80’s.
• In 2002, the number of murders by juveniles dropped to its lowest level since 1984.
• The likelihood of juveniles being murdered in 2002 was the same as in 1966.
• Both male and female students ages 12-18 experienced far fewer crimes of violence and theft in their schools in 2001 than in 1992.
• In 2003, juveniles ages 12-17 were half as likely to be the victim of a violent crime as in 1993.
• Between 1994 and 2002, the number of murders involving a juvenile offender fell 65% to its lowest level since 1984.
• 6% of high school students said they have carried a weapon on school property in the past 30 days—this figure is down from 12% in 1993.
• Illicit drug use by juveniles in 2004 was half that of the early 80’s.

Are you surprised? I have to admit that I was actually stunned by some of the statistics found in the OJJDP Report. Those darn statistics really went against the grain of what I had believed and they actually changed the direction of the article I was planning on writing.

John Quincy Adams might have put it best when he said; “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

Fact is defined as something that can be shown to be true, to exist, or to have happened, in other words a fact is not an opinion. Therefore, the statistics provided by the OJJDP report support certain facts. The fact is that the juvenile crime rate in this country is at the lowest level since the early 80’s.

Of course, information presented in statistical reports is open to interpretation. Statistics can be taken out of context, skewed, reported or presented in ways that can be used to prove a point.

Take for example, the first statistic that I presented you with: juvenile courts handled 1.6 million delinquency cases in 2002 – up from 1.1 million in 1985.

I used this statement, presented it out of context and grouped it with other carefully picked statistics to make you believe that juvenile crime is out of control.

Now let’s consider this statistic which was taken from the same report: the juvenile crime rate in this country is at the lowest level since the early 80’s.

When you combine these two seemingly opposing statistics, you will notice an interesting trend. Juvenile crime is at its lowest rate in decades, yet we are currently putting 45% more children through the juvenile justice system than we did in 1985.

What is happening in this country? Have we made it a crime to be young? Are we a society that now punishes children for behavior that was once written off to youthful exuberance? Look back to your childhood. How many stupid stunts did you pull off that would now land you in jail?

Wow, there I go again. Reporting statistics in a way designed to persuade you and shape your opinion.

My point is simply this. You cannot believe everything you see or hear in the media. Just as crime is good for my business, it also sells newspapers and keeps people planted in front of their televisions sitting through endless commercials.

Believe me; you are much better off reading the report yourself and formulating your own opinion. Complete copies of the OJJDP Report are available from the United States Department Of Justice.

I hope this doesn’t hurt business!

An Introduction To Video Security Recording Systems.

In this day and age, most people are very familiar with Video Surveillance systems. From small two and four camera systems used to monitor homes and convenience stores to gigantic systems with hundreds and perhaps thousands of cameras, the use of video surveillance is increasing daily. Some studies have shown that an average person will be recorded on a video surveillance system at least four times every day.

So you want to install your own Video Surveillance System? Ten years ago, I would have never supported the idea, but recent innovations in Video Surveillance Technology have made it relatively easy to install your own surveillance system. The first step is to understand the different technologies available for recording video.

The effectiveness of your Video Surveillance system is based around one thing, the quality of the recorded images. There are currently three types of head end recording solutions currently being offered in the video surveillance market. They are the Analog/Time Lapse Recorder (VCR) Systems, the Digital Hard Drive Recording Systems which operate like a VCR but utilize hard-drives to store video and the top of the line PC Based Digital Video Recording Systems or DVR’s.

The use of Time Lapse Video Tape Recorders in the video surveillance industry started a little over 25 years ago. The first systems required a Video Recorder and a monitor for every camera. Innovations in the industry included the video multiplexer and splitters that allowed multiple cameras to be viewed and recorded on a single video tape. Until 4 or 5 years ago, this technology was still the most prevalent form of recording video.

A Time Lapse Recorder has a single video input that allows you to record the incoming video signal. A standard VCR records and plays back video at about 30 frames per second, which on a standard T-160 video tape allows you to record 2-hours of video. A time lapse video recorder slows down the rate at which the images are recorded. Some Recorders allow you to extend the recording up to 960 hours onto a single video tape.

Be aware that when you are recording 960 hours on one VCR tape you are only recording 1 frame or picture every 9 seconds. When programming a time lapse recorder I strongly recommend you do not set the recording duration for more than 3 days or 72 hours. This setting allows you to record over a weekend without changing the tape. Three days of recording on one tape records 1.5 frames or pictures per second. Not great, but not bad considering this is a 20 year old technology.

This works O.K. for a single camera system. Let’s say for example you need 4, 8 or even 16 cameras to watch your property. You could either purchase a monitor and a time lapse recorder for each camera, or you can add a video multiplexer.

A video multiplexer allows you to view and record multiple cameras on a single time lapse recorder and video monitor. Multiplexers are offered in color or black & white in 4, 9 or 16 camera configurations. A video multiplexer works by digitally separating the incoming video signals and dividing them out, one at a time, to a time lapse recorder. It sends the image from camera 1 to frame 1, camera 2 to frame 2, camera 3 to frame 3 and so on. An added benefit of multiplexers is the ability to view multiple cameras simultaneously on a single CCTV Monitor.

A major drawback is that during the digitizing of the incoming video signals, about ½ of the information contained in the image is lost. Also remember that you are now limiting the total number of images per second for any given number of cameras. With 16 cameras recording on a single video tape for 72 hours, you are now getting about 1 frame of video from each camera about every 3 seconds.

If a video is recorded on a time lapse recorder through a multiplexer, you must use a time lapse recorder and a multiplexer for playback. A standard VCR cannot process the digital multiplexing encoded in the time lapse format and will not provide a useful playback.

With the advent of the digital age, manufacturers soon devised a way to combine the best features of the Time Lapse Recorder and the Video Multiplexer into a single system that utilizes hard drives rather than VCR tapes to store the recorded images.

Hardware based digital video recorders operate much like a VCR, complete with shuttle and jog controls. Most will utilize some type of traditional CCTV or SVGA Video monitor to view the video.

These units are built from the ground up to perform one specific function, record video. While they do operate some software internally, the video processing is hardware based. It is this hardware which provides the live viewing and high resolution recording. Many of these systems can record high resolution video from 16 or more cameras at up to 160 images per second.

No more VCR tapes are required as all of the video is recorded onto hard drives. How long the video can be stored is merely a function of the total images per second being recorded, the size of the image files and the total size of the installed hard drive(s).

In addition, these recorders utilize a process called first-in first-out to process video (FIFO). They will record video until the designated amount of disk space has been used. Then the system will delete the oldest clips and record the new video. This provides a continuous loop of recordings at anytime.

Some other interesting benefits of digitally processing the video are features such as motion or event based recording options and advanced playback capabilities. In the old days of VCR’s & Multiplexers, it could literally take many hours to try and find an event that occurred overnight. Now, the advanced digital search functions allow you to find archived video in seconds, not hours.

A PC based DVR is comprised of a computer, video capture cards and a software package that allows full motion video to be recorded and played back on a standard personal computer. Due to their superior processing speeds, some of these systems are capable of recording up to 480 images per second, which equates to 30 images per second, or real time video for every camera connected to the system.

Many people consider the PC based Digital Video Recorders to be much easier to use and more flexible than the Digital Hard Drive Recorders, and they offer selectable recording resolution that is up to 4 times greater than the resolution of the old Time Lapse Recorders.

PC based DVR’s are programmed and operated with a keyboard and mouse. The video is recorded to the computers hard drive in a compressed format. This compression allows a huge amount of video to be stored. On average, a four camera system recording continuously will record about 30 days of video on one single 80 gig hard drive. To double the recording days simply add another 80 gig hard drive.

PC based DVR’s are designed so they do not require any scheduled actions or maintenance to provide uninterrupted video recordings. Recorded video is played back on the computer monitor and it can be printed, saved to a floppy disk or burned to a CD. These systems allow you to view and playback any combination of cameras without interrupting the systems recording process.

A very popular feature of the PC Based Digital Video Recorders is that most of them support remote viewing from any PC that is properly equipped by using Windows Media Player or other remote viewing software. This can allow you to check on your home or office security cameras over the internet.

Which system is right for you? The final choice might come down to budget, or custom features that you can’t live without, but whether you choose a tried and true Time Lapse Recorder, or opt for a state of the art Digital Video Recorder, you are sure to improve the safety and security of your home or office by installing a Video Surveillance System.

Security Alarm Monitoring. Is it worth the cost?

A gigantic industry has grown up around the off-site central station monitoring of burglary and fire alarm systems. In fact, many security dealers dedicate 100% of their available resources to installing as many monitored accounts as they can. Many of these systems are put-in with little or no upfront costs even though the total costs for parts and labor for the average home alarm system are well over $ 400.00.

Why would a dealer dedicate so much of his time giving away and then installing monitored security systems? The answer is Monthly Re-Occurring Revenue (MRR), which is simply the fee that is associated with monitoring your security system.

The contract that they make you sign is worth money. Just like the cellular phone industry, your contractual obligation with the provider allows them to subsidize the upfront costs of the installation. You really did not think that new cell phone cost $ 29.00 did you?

You see, there is really no such thing as a free security system. With monthly fees reaching upwards of $ 35.00 or more with a 3-year contractual obligation, you are committing to pay the dealer $ 1,260.00 for that free security system.

Fifteen or twenty years ago, most towns of any size had a few locally owned Central Stations. These Central Stations were usually the heart of a thriving alarm company that had a dedicated sales and service force that created and maintained their customer base.

The value of alarm companies is at least partly based on the total amount of Monthly Re-Occurring Revenue that they are able to generate. Imagine a medium sized company that charges $ 25.00 for alarm monitoring every month. Now imagine that company has 5,000 customers. That company is now generating $ 125,000.00 per month which is equal to 1.5 Million Dollars in Annual Re-Occurring Revenue.

The purchase price of most companies is roughly based on 3-½ times their annual revenue, which would make our example company worth over 5-Million Dollars. As you can guess, with alarm monitoring worth so much, many of the family run alarm companies cashed out long ago.

Through a series of acquisitions and mergers, most of the Security and Fire Alarm Systems in the United States are now monitored by a handful of Super-Sized Central Stations. Many of these Mega-Stations have hundreds of highly trained alarm dispatchers that handle thousands of alarms from all over the country.

Now, let’s go back to that local installer toiling day in and day out to give away and Install Security Systems. He can afford to give you that alarm system because he is selling the contract to one of these Super-Sized Central Stations. Depending on your credit score and the term of the contract, he will collect anywhere from 25 to 40 times the monthly fee for turning over the contract. If it cost him $ 300.00 for the equipment and another $ 100.00 for the labor and you singed a 3-year contract at $ 30.00 a month, he will probably make about $ 650.00 for giving you that free security system.

So what is that security monitoring really worth? If you consider that an army of well equipped and trained dispatchers are standing by to dispatch the appropriate authorities to your home or business and it costs less than the price of a soda every day, it really can be worth every penny.

Highly popular in Europe and Asia, RFID smart cards are making a strong impact in America.

Originally requiring contact with the reader in order to transfer information, manufacturers such as HID have begun building proximity, non-contact type cards that transfer bi-directional data utilizing RFID technology.

By encoding the cards and the readers with 64-bit encrypted “keys”, manufacturers are able to provide highly secure credentials for access and simultaneously open up a whole new world of possible applications for proximity cards.

The data chips on smart cards can be segregated into separate application areas. Some manufactures provide as many as 16-different application areas. Each application area can be provided with its own unique 64-bit “key” so that only specific readers can access the information in that area.

In other words, you can have a reader in the library that has the 64-bit key to application area 4 where the card stores all of your library information including which books you have checked out and not returned. A reader in the cafeteria has the 64-bit key to application area 6 which debits money from your account for food purchases. The reader on the student housing building has the 64-bit key to application area 1 where your card access level information is stored which grants you access into the dormitory.

With the advances in smart card technology, manufacturers are working on stand alone readers and locksets that are essentially “off-line” but they will still be able to integrate with P.C. based electronic access control systems.

The stand alone “smart” locks will incorporate smart card readers with the ability to write the transaction back to the smart card. A person could visit hundreds of the “off-line” readers and when he reads his card at an “on-line” reader, the stored transactions would be downloaded to the database. If a person is fired, or taken out of the database for any reason, the “on-line” system can write the necessary information deleting the card, to each card that it reads. In this way, the information is transferred to the “off-line” readers telling them to delete the access privileges of the card.

Theoretically, this will allow large users of access control systems to customize their solutions and provide a mix of on-line and off-line readers that can be centrally managed while taking advantage of their existing communication infrastructure.

Another popular feature of smart cards is the ability to store biometric access control templates which allows faster response from biometric authentication readers. This innovative approach to biometric technology allows you to carry around your biometric template with you, rather than having it stored on the computer or the reader itself.

Because the template comparison becomes a one to one versus a one to many, it frees up valuable processor time and hard drive storage space, which allows the new breed of biometric readers to work very quickly.

Very soon, when you use your credit card at a point of sale, you might have to present your finger to a biometric reader to verify your identity. Not long after that, even internet transactions will be authenticated using some form of smart cards and biometric identification.

Get ready America, as all of these transactions are sure to use some type of Smart Card Technology!