Criminality has exploded to epidemic levels in recent years. It seems like today’s crooks are more brazen than yesterdays. Burglars and shoplifters routinely attack places of business. Breaking into homes is also becoming a common feature in the daily news. In light of this, there is no such thing as being overly cautious or having too many traditional or virtual security measures in place. But which is the better option – human guard or a virtual guard?
When it came to protecting your home, office, or loved ones, employing a security guard was the go-to protocol, well, until recently. But things have changed dramatically since the advent of live video surveillance. Live video monitoring is quickly replacing traditional methods, because of its low cost, greater detection capabilities, and faster response times.
In this post, we’ll examine the most common security issues facing businesses today as well as how virtual security measures compare to human security guards in solving these issues. Finding the ideal security solution for your business requires knowing how these two systems compare to one another. Read on!
What are Virtual Security Guards?
Virtual guards are professionally trained security personnel who keep an eye on your property from afar with the use of remote surveillance technology like surveillance cameras. The vast majority of them have prior experience in the armed forces or law enforcement. They are not physically present at the site but rather keep watch from a central location through televisions and monitors.
They try to identify potential perpetrators and take safety precautions before the situation escalates. Speakers built inside cameras can be used to issue warnings to anyone approaching hazardous or restricted areas, or to contact emergency services in the event of an accident.
What Can You Expect from Virtual Security Guards?
1. Lesser risks
Virtual guarding has several advantages, one of which is that it is safer than traditional security measures. When anything bad happens at a place, a lot of guards get hurt or die under the old guarding method. However, while utilizing a virtual guard service, there is no need to worry about such perilous occurrences. As a result, virtual guarding presents either no danger at all or only a minimal risk.
2. Lowers security expenses
If your company employs onsite security guards, they must be stationed at every entrance, exit, and any area where criminal activity or accidental injury can occur. Supposing you have ten such locations, you’d need to hire ten security guards, which is obviously not a viable choice.
One alternative is to deploy video surveillance equipment in each of the 10 locations, with the footage being sent to a central monitoring station located elsewhere, where a guard would keep watch. You can save a lot of money on salary and upkeep if you only hire one security officer rather than 10.
A virtual guard is stationed in the control room and monitors every activity. Nonetheless, you will still need to allocate resources to the procurement of necessary equipment, as well as the installation of cameras and a central monitoring system. Making an initial investment in this technology will yield long-term cost savings and improve the safety of your company’s assets.
3. Virtual guards don’t fall asleep
Imagine that it’s 3 in the morning on a Friday and that robbers, vandals, and thieves are planning to break into your place of business in the hunt for your valuables, years of toil, and means of livelihood. Can you put your faith in a security officer who is either tired, asleep, or has dubious training?
Alternatively, you could have a high-definition (HD) video surveillance system professionally setup, with a team of experts keeping an eye on things from a centralized control room and quickly reacting to any potential dangers they detect.
4. Virtual guards can’t lie
Worse yet, imagine if your store’s regular security guards accept bribes from the burglar and act as his accomplices, which could be a big blow to your company This never happens when surveillance cameras and virtual guards are onsite, as every activity is captured and uploaded to a local disk or the cloud for later review.
Sincere investigation is made possible through the viewing of archived recordings. These recordings provide evidence that aids law enforcement in apprehending those responsible. If an incident occurs at your organization, having video footage of it will allow you to investigate what went wrong and figure out how to avoid similar situations in the future.
5. Virtual guards provide wider coverage
An on-site security guard can only do so much because of the restrictions on their line of sight. Since they are constantly on the move, any given place that they aren’t currently patrolling will likely be vulnerable. With the use of surveillance cameras, however, a virtual security guard can monitor several locations simultaneously.
What Not to Expect from Virtual Security Guards
Despite all the amazing benefits you stand to enjoy by switching from human security guards to virtual security guards, there remain a few shortcomings of virtual guards you should be aware of.
These include:
1. Absence of visible protection
Virtual security solutions do not employ physically present guards, which may be enticing to thieves at first. Virtual security guards, however, have been shown to effectively detect and halt even the most pervasive threats quickly.
2. Absence of instant on-site assistance
Virtual security solutions do not provide instantaneous access to on-site assistance. Nevertheless, virtual security’s response time to incidents has been shown to be significantly faster than that of traditional human security systems.
Summary
If you’re worried about your safety or that of your properties, you can rely on a virtual guard who is a remotely-located security professional. Proactive live video monitoring of premises, visitor authentication at entrances, database administration, and more may all be accomplished with the help of a remote agent.
Although there are a few drawbacks to using virtual guards, the benefits far outweigh the risks. To protect your enterprise or small business against catastrophic events without breaking the bank, hiring virtual security guards is the way to go.