SECURITY Update
I Can See Clearly Now
Store security technologies continue to improve. By Cheryl Ursin W
hen two control states, Virginia and Idaho, recently upgraded the security systems in their state stores, one difference was imme- diate and obvious: the quality of the images they were getting from their new camera systems.
"The quality is amazing, incredible," said Jama Smith, special agent in charge (SAC) from the Bureau of Law Enforcement for the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC). "In a lot of cases, we don't even have to go to court. Once the person sees the picture and how clear it is, they really can't deny it." In fact, local police quickly learned about the DABC camera systems, which were upgraded in all 336 stores in 2010. "If there's an incident in a shopping center, they always come to us first, to see if we captured something with our cameras," said Smith.
In Idaho, Keven Lowe, deputy director of information technology and security for the Idaho State Liquor Division (SLD), has been having similar experiences, since the SLD began the process of upgrading the camera systems in its 66 state stores. So far, 21 are using the new system. "The police love these," said Lowe. "We can give them a really nice still photo – and they can actually identify the people in it." Just how good are the images? Lowe said that he can look at a store's video at headquarters and tell the store's staff that they've done a good job with the facings on the shelves. "We have people who do their store's inventory using the camera system," said Brian Davis, director of sales for 3xLogic, the company that manufactured the cameras and digital video recorders (DVRs) being used in the Idaho stores. "When someone is handling money, you can tell what bills they are holding. You could never do that before."
Retail crime – shoplifting, employee theft, vendor theft, robberies and burglaries – has always been around.
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"In a lot of cases, we don't even have to go to court. Once the person sees the picture and how clear it is,
they really can't deny it." — Jama Smith,
Special agent in charge (SAC) from the Bureau of Law Enforcement for the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC).
This camera, model VSX-2MP-MVD4, is one made by 3xLogic, which has cameras being used in state stores in Idaho and North Carolina.
StateWays s www.stateways.com s May/June 2012
