3 ways to maximize the value of security cameras 

Security cameras seem to be everywhere: law enforcement and other public agencies employ cameras, as do businesses of all kinds and an ever-increasing share of households. However, most of what happens in any particular camera’s field of view is unremarkable – so it may not surprise you that most security video is never watched.

But that doesn’t mean those cameras or the video they produce are useless. Most video is not watched simply because those increasing camera numbers mean that much of their output either shows no activity of interest, or overlaps with that from other cameras. And the proliferation of cameras means watching all that video would be impractical anyhow.

What matters is not how much video footage goes unseen: It’s whether the footage that matters gets put to the highest use. If you have video surveillance you can maximize the value of your security cameras by increasing safety on your premises.

1) Use AI to scan video streams, trigger automated alerts, and screen out false alarms. Whether it’s a parking lot, hallway, or storage lot, if an area is empty and quiet, there’s no need for people to spend hours reviewing surveillance video. AI-powered alerts and analytics, and sensors that register movement or intrusion by other means, can help you understand when a camera’s output is worth paying attention to.

2) Ensure that cameras are connected to a video management system (VMS), so incidents can be quickly analyzed. When a robbery takes place, you want to be able to see what’s happening now, not just watch a recording later. An intelligent VMS allows you to focus only on cameras with detected activity, and lets you see multiple cameras on-screen at once. Here, too, AI plays a role: AI tracking can be used to follow the movement of people or vehicles throughout your premises. 

3) Implement incident-specific camera sharing to allow 911 operators and dispatchers to provide first responders with objective, real-time, visual information. This can be achieved by designating cameras to be linked by location to any 911 calls placed from the immediate vicinity.

Even when text-to-911 is available, as it is in many parts of the U.S., witnesses or victims are encouraged to contact 911 with a voice call when possible rather than a text, because much more information can be transmitted in a short time via voice. Camera sharing delivers even more information with the greatest clarity. Instead of relying on a witness to interpret what’s happening, a 911 telecommunicator (the professionals who field 911 calls at Emergency Communication Centers and guide first responders on the scene) can view the output of a shared camera stream to see what safety hazards are evident, how many people are in sight, and how a situation is developing. 99% of U.S. emergency communication centers are capable of viewing such shared camera views.

“Instead of relying on a witness to interpret what’s happening, a 911 operator can view the output of a shared camera stream to see what safety hazards are evident, how many people are in sight, and how a situation is developing.”

The idea of camera sharing may cause concerns: If you’re sharing a camera’s feed, who else can see it? Are you compromising the privacy and security of employees or students by sharing the video feed? Are you exposing your IT infrastructure to attackers?

Those concerns, however, can all be successfully addressed by selecting and configuring a camera sharing solution (such as Eagle Eye 911 Camera Sharing) which ensures by design that data is transmitted securely, and for only as long as it takes for an incident to be resolved. Encryption and cybersecurity best practices can protect your video surveillance infrastructure from attacks, by isolating them from any outside connections.

Correctly implemented, camera sharing helps keep your premises safe, whenever an emergency event is reported nearby, and without compromising your own systems. Contact our team to learn how to boost the value of your camera infrastructure and deliver greater peace of mind.

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