Showing posts with label alarm system. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alarm system. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Catching Crooks is the Game, Deterrence is the Aim

Career criminals who have previously done time for past crimes realize that if they are caught again, they’ll do even more time. For this reason, they cannot afford to be caught again. Many of these crooks specialize in what they do and many of them do it quite well.

Some of these career criminals will resort to setting the scene of a crime ablaze in order to destroy evidence. Fire is one way to destroy fingerprint residue as well as the media that holds video evidence. Examples of this include SD/Micro-SD chips in cameras, DVR’s (digital video recorders), NVR’s (network video recorders), DVD’s, and other means of video data storage.

“Fires, by their destructive nature, consume the evidence of their initiation and progress as they grow. Investigations are compromised, and often scenes are further destroyed by the activities of the fire service, whose primary responsibilities are to save lives and protect property against further damage” (Fire and Arson Scene Evidence: A Guide for Public Safety Personnel, http://bit.ly/2a3JOcf).
Video combined with intrusion/fire detection is one way to fight this kind of crime right from the beginning. The mere presence of cameras in and about a targeted business is often enough to send this type of criminal scurrying to an adjacent business who does not display any sign of cameras or a security system. The existence of a siren box on the side of a building, the presence of a working keypad inside the foyer, having foil tape or vibration detection bugs attached to the window glass around the perimeter, the presence of cameras inside and out are often enough to deter would-be criminals before the crime has been committed.
“Again I say, catching crooks may be the name of the game, but deterrence is always our aim,” says John Larkin, Senior Partner with ESC of Columbus, Ohio.
Toward that end, having a quality video surveillance system with off-site image archiving is one way to retain valuable evidence, evidence that would otherwise be destroyed in an intentionally set fire.

Electronic Systems Consultants LLC (@ESC_LLC) specializes in the sale and installation of quality video surveillance, intrusion, and fire detection systems. Off-site image archiving is available at competitive prices.

Give ESC a call today and we’ll be happy to visit your place of business where we’ll develop a game plan specific to your situation. Call us today at 614-754-1393, send us an email at electronicsystemsconsultants@gmail.com, or use our quick quote form on our website at http://bit.ly/1wXhlut. (scroll down, on right).


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Monday, April 11, 2016

Security: Meet the Human Interface

Electronic security, whether in the home, office, or an industrial facility, requires some means of interface between the control system and the people who use it. In some cases this means of interface is nothing more than a key switch while in other situations it can be a keyfob, an access card, or a keypad equipped with the usual numeric and function buttons (see photo #1). In some cases this human interface can take the form of a smartphone.

The most common keypad in use today provides the means whereby users can input a four-to-six digit numeric code, thus arming or disarming their alarm system. These simple human interfaces provide a series of point indicators that tell the status of the alarm system at a glance.

Additional buttons often are included that provide advanced functions, such as medical alert, hold-up, and fire. These buttons can be disabled by the alarm company where necessary.

Disabling these buttons is a ploy used when such a keypad is to be mounted in a public space where members of the general public might invoke an unwanted alarm. Such an area is the vestibule of a retail store.

Today’s Security Systems Offer Advanced Features
As time moves forward, so does the technology we use for security, and hence the human interface has grown more responsive to the many features and benefits that have evolved while becoming more simplistic over time.

Honeywell’s Lyric home controller, shown in the photo to the left, is a good example of a sophisticated, modern human interface (keypad) that offers more than just security. Besides arming, disarming, medical, panic, and fire, these systems make it possible to integrate your keyfobs and other alarm devices with a motorized garage door or outside gate.

Additional integrated components include video cameras; on keypad weather alerts with five-day forecasts; remote access to online devices, such as smartphones, desktop computers, laptops, and tablets; and control of auxiliary locks, such as Yale’s Real Living or Schlage Sense locks. Additional features include the ability to monitor pool areas, pets, water leaks, and harmful gases, such as CO and propane or natural gas.

Clearly today’s keypad has become more than just a security control device. For example, instead of hard keys that can become dirty over time, thus revealing a user’s PIN (Personal Identification Number), systems like Honeywell’s Lyric sports soft keys using an advanced touch-screen display. Systems that include all of the above new features and benefits have taken today’s alarm system from “wait and see” to “every day” where the business or home owner depends on it continually throughout each day.

If you’re interested in upgrading your existing alarm system to include some or all of the features named above, give ESC a call today and ask for assistance. Our number is 614-754-1393, or send us an email at electronicsystemsconsultants@gmail.com. You also can use our easy-to-use response form below.

Use of Keyfobs at Record High
Alarm users love their keyfobs, and that is a fact. Most alarm owners and users utilize mobile devices called keyfobs. Most of these devices are an integral part of alarm user’s lives as they offer a convenient, rapid means of alarm control.

Keyfobs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on who makes them. They can come with a single button, two buttons, or four. In the case of the latter, control functions include disarm, arm, panic, and control of a light or perhaps a garage door—even both.

The problem with keyfobs is that if you lose one and someone finds it, or if they actually stole it, the same device that allows you to enter your business or home will also grant crooks the same luxury. If such a loss should occur, contact ESC’s main office ASAP and ask to have the lost keyfob removed from your alarm system. Although it’s not difficult to do, it may require an ESC technician to do this from your business or home, resulting in a service charge. Call us at 614-754-1393 and ask for service.

Integration Between Access & Security Systems
Electronic Systems Consultants LLC is a fully capable systems integrator. We can integrate your access control and security systems in such a way that your alarm system can be armed and disarmed through a single action on the access control side.

The advantage of this type of arrangement is the convenience of doing two things at once without remembering PINs and operating keypads or keyfobs. Of course, it’s still a great idea that every system has at least one keypad for alarm control. In fact, you can still use a keyfob as well, and in some cases the keyfob can be used to unlock doors and turn alarm systems off, all at the same time.

The degree of complexity or simplicity is up to you and ESC is prepared to provide you with whatever you need to make the task of alarm and building control more manageable to you and your staff on a daily basis. If you’re interested in upgrading your existing alarm system to include some or all of the features mentioned in this article, give ESC a call today. Our phone number is 614-754-1393, or you can send an email at electronicsystemsconsultants@gmail.com. You also can use our easy-to-use response form below. We look forward to hearing from you at your convenience.

John Larkin, Senior Partner

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Friday, February 20, 2015

Burglary Crime Prevention 101

Crime prevention is the most important aspect of what Electronic Systems Consultants LLC and other security firms do on a daily basis. Whether it's an alarm system, access control system, or a video surveillance system, 90 percent of purpose behind these systems is to discourage and deter criminal acts from occurring in the first place.

Although ESC deals mostly with commercial and institutional security, the issue of home invasion is an important one and deserves everyone's attention. As a courtesy to our social media followers and clients, ESC presents the following video on how to prevent home crimes.

Last but not least, the following video offers some great insights into crime by the criminals who commit them. This is a must watch!

If you have questions about how to prevent crime in your place of business, your government agency/department, or home, send them along and I'll provide an answer. Please use our contact page.

Kind Regards,
John Larkin, Senior Partner

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