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| GB Monitoring's Operations Director, Tom Smith explained how security provisions should change with the recent times |
As many local councils are being forced to reduce their CCTV and monitoring budgets, GB Monitoring's Operations Director, Tom Smith, explains why affected businesses need to implement their own security provisions. Many councils across the UK are facing the prospect of having their manned CCTV monitoring stopped due to budget cuts. In many areas the CCTV cameras will stay in place and will still record but will not be used to prevent or deal with live incidents as they will no longer monitored.
Tom Smith explained, "The use of CCTV cameras in conjunction with CCTV monitoring ensures the safety of businesses and the public alike. By removing monitoring, the cameras will only be consulted after an incident. The fundamental premise of monitored CCTV is that you can stop criminals before they attack rather than detecting crime after it has happened."
One of the many ways that councils have tried to overcome the budget cuts is to reduce the number of hours that cameras are monitored and to focus the cameras on known trouble-spots, resulting in many areas and businesses being left unprotected.
"It is very likely that the removal of CCTV monitoring will lead to increased crime levels in those areas. Now is the time for businesses affected by the cuts to start implementing their own security measures to ensure that any increase in crime levels does not have devastating consequences for them."
Tom continued, "At GB Monitoring we offer remotely monitored CCTV as a cost effective method of providing live on-the-ground site protection around the clock, without the huge costs associated with providing 24 hour manned cover. Many of our customers find this a much more affordable option."
