Video Alarm Verification Works

Imagine you’re a police dispatcher. You have one unit available. Two calls come in. The first is an automated notification from a security company: alarms at a warehouse indicate someone has broken in. The second is from another security company’s monitoring station. They’re tracking a couple of suspects on analytics-enabled cameras at a construction site. The intruders cut through a fence and are breaking into a storage container. Where do you send your cruiser?

Exactly. To the construction site. To stop a verified crime in progress. Why risk heading off to a false alarm and let two crooks get away. Time is everything when it comes to stopping criminals. You need hard evidence. Even better if an officer is an eye witness.

Video alarm verification means fewer false alarms, more apprehensions and stronger evidence. Radius’ 2018 statistics bear this out. Last year, our Redhanded remote video monitoring system led to 576 dispatches, 258 apprehensions and 20 false dispatches. That’s a 45% apprehension rate (trending about 60% by year end) and a 3.5% false alarm rate. In contrast, Toronto’s false dispatch rate with alarm companies was 97% last year. That’s a big difference.

Not surprisingly, police dispatchers assign higher priority to incidents with VAV of crimes in progress. Because the police units arrive quicker, clients suffer fewer losses and less damage.

Police departments also like video monitoring because these systems help protect officers in the line of duty. From a central monitoring station, operators track the movements of suspects in real time. They can keep dispatchers informed at all times about where suspects are, how many are on site, what they’re wearing and whether they are armed. Knowing these details helps keep the first responders safe. In this Christmas Day apprehension, a K9 unit missed an intruder in hiding. Thanks to Radius, the officers quickly turned around and successfully chased down the culprit. Apprehending suspects is very much a team effort.

Want to see VAV in action? Check out our latest apprehension videos.

Contact us for more information about security cameras for your business.

Note: This blog discusses general safety and security topics. It is not intended to provide comprehensive advice or guidance. In all matters of personal safety and security, We encourage readers to research topics in depth and consult a security professional about specific concerns.

‍