Seven in ten people across the UK would feel more protected by HD CCTV cameras rather than standard surveillance systems, according to the results of a new study.

The findings of a survey by YouGov and surveillance solutions company Avigilon found that 72 per cent of the public would feel safer with HD cameras on Britain’s streets to ensure clearer pictures of criminals were obtained.

Eight in ten people said it is imperative that high definition CCTV was employed at transport hubs. Some 69 per cent said it was important to have the technology at football matches, 67 per cent in shopping centres and 65 per cent on public streets.

However, 51 per cent said that while CCTV plays a part in identifying and prosecuting criminals throughout the UK, they believe poor picture quality can be a hindrance.

Robin Hughes, director of business development for the UK and Ireland at Avigilon, said the results showed the “clear value” of CCTV in the UK and how Brits want to see HD – despite estimates showing less than one in ten CCTV cameras in the UK are HD.

“The use of CCTV today is seen as a key asset by the public, but many are quick to notice a difference between the pixelated images on the news and the quality they’re used to in their everyday lives on smart phones or HD TVs,” he said.

“CCTV does create a feeling of security for people, which is good, but how effective is the surveillance on Britain’s streets when it comes to clearly identifying suspects?

“The challenge is to deliver the most effective value from such systems, ensuring responsible surveillance. Not only is it more cost effective for businesses and councils to use HD surveillance, but the chances of prosecution increases considerably.”

Netherlands-based video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) innovator Cameramanager.com has selected NW Systems Group as its launch partner for the UK online sales.

From 3 June 2013 Cameramanager.com services will be available for purchase from Networkwebcams.co.uk.

NW Security, the UK-based group’s integration arm, will also offer to install any Panasonic or Axis cameras that are required by UK Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) which will be targeted with the monthly subscription-based video surveillance service.

Cameramanager.com, which was purchased by Dutch telecoms group Detron Corporation in 2007, has grown rapidly and is serving over 50,000 camera connections. The organization is currently active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Brazil, Latvia, Russia and Turkey.

The revolutionary cloud-based camera surveillance solution is designed for SMBs such as shops or restaurants which do not want to pay to support and maintain video storage hardware such as DVRs or dedicated PCs holding several gigabytes of surveillance video images.Cameramanager.com makes it possible to manage IP cameras fully in the cloud.

It is designed for the new ‘connected ’ generation who do everything while connected to the Internet from their PC, tablet or smartphone. Cameramanager.com provides an easy to setup tailorable interface which enables users to view, store and analyse up to 60 days of recording, saving only video sequences which require further investigation.

The arrival of fast broadband and 4G networks in the UK soon makes this mature VSaaS service compelling for many UK-based SMB owners and managers wanting to keep a remote eye on their office, shop or other assets while they are on the move. It is possible to set up motion alerts which automatically push text messages to users ’ mobile devices when movement is detected. It just gives them the peace of mind which many are looking for, all for a highly affordable monthly subscription fee.

The service uses the most robust and secure network, cabling and cloud technologies including multiple and redundant Gbps Ethernet connections to the fastest European fibre network, Secured Cloud Connection, automatic load balancing, use of CloudBank STAC self-healing VM Failover, redundant database clustering and much more.

Rishi Lodhia, founder and managing director of Cameramanager.com explained why he selected NW Systems as its online partner in the UK:

“NW Systems has the same understanding as we do that the proliferation of high quality broadband connections and maturing of cloud-based computing together present some unique opportunities for IP video. ”

“NW Systems is the only UK company offering a highly rated online store for IP video products and already running its own internet and cloud-based video services like RemoteManager and Streamdays. They understand the market and have the vital online channel to market. It will be a great partnership for us. ”

Frank Crouwel – Managing Director, NW Systems Group.

Frank Crouwel, managing director, NW Systems Group, said: “We believe that the time is right to enter the UK market with a highly robust, easy to set up and use VSaaS service. We have the largest UK online store for IP cameras in the shape of networkwebcams.co.uk and we know we can reach a good percentage of the market for this service online. ”

Aaron Dale, market analyst, Security & Fire, IHS, said: “We have forecast compound annual growth rates of 33.4% in terms of revenues throughout 2011-2016 so that the UK and Eire market for VSaaS will reach £15m ($24m) by 2016. The presence of start-up VSaaS services across Europe and the continued infrastructure investment by large telecoms players like Telefonica, as well the involvement of VMS players including Genetec, make this market a very exciting one to watch over the next few years. ”

More Information:

www.nwsystemsgroup.com

Developments in car and domestic security are key factors behind falling crime rates, according to one expert. Andromachi Tseloni, professor of criminology at Nottingham Trent University, told SecurityNewsDesk that security has a profound effect on preventing opportunistic crime compared to that of the criminal justice system.

The latest official government data from the Office for National Statistics showed there was an 8 per cent decrease in the numbers of crimes recorded in England and Wales last year. Police recorded 3.7 million crimes, with falls seen in almost every category.

It estimated there were a total of 8.9 million crime against adults in England and Wales in the year ending December 2012, a 5 per cent decrease compared to the previous year. Crimes such as criminal damage were down 15 per cent, while there were also year-on-year decreases in the likes of burglary (13 per cent), vehicle theft (10 per cent) violence against the person (6 per cent) and sexual offences (3 per cent).

With crime figures dropping, Tseloni outlined the viewpoint that it is not just the police and the criminal justice system that is behind the drop, but security has to be taken into consideration as a key component of the reduced level of crime.

“Crime has fallen in a number of countries, countries that have very different policing styles and different imprisonment rates,” said Tseloni. “In my view it has to be something different than the criminal justice system otherwise it wouldn’t affect so many countries with so many different criminal justice systems.

“We thought it is something to do with either public attitudes or security and indeed we have done research that found that car crime drop is due to improved security.”

The category of vehicle theft showed a decrease of 10 per cent compared with the previous year, and a decrease of 75 per cent in total since 1995. Tseloni worked on research on the international crime falls and car crime drop in collaboration with professors Nick Tilley and Graham Farrell and supported by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The research into vehicle crime found improved security resulted in a drop in car crime and having more than one security device provided “excess protection greater than the sum of the individual effects”.

Further work into home security analysed more than 20 years’ of British Crime Survey data and found the richest households with the best security had the second highest burglary rate. However, good security, such as double deadlocks and window bolts, was found to “massively reduce” burglaries for low income households.

Data in the Crime Survey for England and Wales showed a significant 13 per cent fall for burglary in the year ending December 2012 compared to the previous year. Indeed, all sub-categories of burglary showed similar decreases.

Tseloni said:  “We found that good security massively reduces burglaries for low income households, which means that if the offender doesn’t have a high incentive to burgle and they just do it because it’s easy then if you put some security there that would deter a burglary.

“Burglars who target large households are more organised and professional and they are not going to be put off by high technology, as they think they can handle it or have networks that can handle it. Security is more of a deterrent for opportunistic crime, where the gains are not going to be massive anyway and isn’t part of an organised network.”

The crime data showed there was an 8 per cent rise in instances of theft from the person, which the researchers claimed was fuelled by thieves targeting smartphones. The researchers are set to undertake further work on the effect that CCTV and an increased perception of public-facing security has on criminals and their behaviour.

As awareness of public-facing security measures grows and surveillance technology improves, it could be seen to have a similar impact on street crimes as the researcher’s previous work showed with regards vehicle crime and burglary.

Private security officers should be utilised throughout the NHS to combat crime and provide support in the wake of major incidents. That is the view of NHS security specialist Peter Finch, security advisor for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and chairman of the National Association for Healthcare Security.

Speaking at IFSEC 2013, his presentation entitled ‘Healthcare Security: the procurement and management challenges’ outlined the threats to hospitals and the challenges posed from a range of security threats, including the risk of terrorism, theft and abuse of staff.

Across the NHS it is estimated there are assets worth around £42 billion that need to be protected, with huge scope for incidents as 1 million patients come through hospital doors every 36 hours across the UK.

Hospitals are facing huge budget cuts, with the health services required to deliver £20 billion in savings between 2011 and 2015 – meaning 4 per cent savings year-on-year must be delivered. Despite budgets being stretched there remains a need to be robust enough to deal with risks and counter the threats, Finch said.

He claimed proactive security and effective risk management systems – including identifying and assessing risks and putting systems and procedures in place – is the best possible protection for people, property and assets.

Finch warned that “no organisation can consider itself exempt from the threat of a blast from a bomb” and hospitals can be left vulnerable should they face hundreds of casualties in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Peter Finch

The NHS security specialist claimed private security officers must be deployed to augment protection in the wake of major incidents, where everyday security resources could be insufficient to deal with such an event.

“Although private security officers do not have powers of arrest, they can provide substantial numbers for securing facility access and there are opportunities for manned guarding companies here,” he said. “Security officers could be posted to stop casualties and others gaining entry and contaminating other patients and staff in the event of a chemical or biological attack.

“We need to be prepared to deal with mass casualties from terrorist strikes, including bomb blasts like those in Boston recently or from chemical, biological and radiation injury or a natural disaster or breakout of infectious disease. All these have the potential for a healthcare facility to be over-run and potentially put out of action and security plays a key role here.”

Finch warned that security throughout the healthcare sector should not be regarded as “a standalone function” and more of a partnership activity with shared functions and responsibilities. He said successful training of private security officers would also offer huge benefits to the NHS to deal with the threats of theft and abuse.

He said: “Without doubt one well-training security officer is worth two well-intentioned but poorly-trained security officers. Our security officers are our 24/7 eyes and ears on the ground and it is essential that they are appropriately trained and equipped.

“Unfortunately, it is my view that our healthcare security officers are neither as well trained or equipped as they should be to carry out the increasing demands that are placed on them. The training industry and equipment suppliers could have a significant role to play here.”

Will Murray, marketing director at Skyguard, has been voted as a Section Committee Member for the British Security Industry Association’s (BSIA) new Lone Worker Section.

The BSIA launched the new Section at IFSEC International 2013 and represents companies operating in the personal protection market, all of which are accredited or working towards accreditation to lone worker standard, BS 8484.

The Committee consists of eight lone worker protection specialists. With Skyguard at the forefront of the industry, Murray was a natural choice to be included as part of the select Committee.

The launch event, held at Birmingham NEC, brought together professionals from across the security industry, and also featured the election and announcement of the first official Section Chairman, Patrick Dealtry. He is a stalwart of the lone worker protection market, having been involved with the BSIA’s Lone Worker Industry Group – the forerunner to the section – for many years, and receiving the coveted BSIA Chairman’s Award in 2010 for services to raising standards in the security industry.

Upon the announcement of election, Skyguard’s Murray said: “To be voted onto the Committee by fellow industry peers is a great honour which I am very proud to accept.  Skyguard have been a supporter and a principle member of the BSIA since 2008. In that time, we’ve worked closely together to ensure key issues are continually adapting to meet marketplace demands.”

“As part of the Committee, I will continue to represent the lone worker protection sector to develop key standards and best practice within the industry.”

Skyguard were presented with a Certificate of Appreciation at the event by James Kelly, the chairman of the BSIA.

BSIA Chairman Kelly added “After many years of witnessing the BSIA’s Lone Worker Industry Group grow, both in influence and in numbers, I am proud to acknowledge the contribution of all involved as the group becomes an official section of membership in its own right.

“As the trade association representing the UK’s private security industry, the BSIA is ideally placed to represent this sector, which makes a significant contribution towards protecting the UK’s eight million lone workers.

“In such a dynamic, fast-growing market, the importance of quality is paramount, and I look forward to supporting the section as it continues to exert its influence in developing industry standards and codes of practice, while promoting the importance of BS 8484 to security buyers and end-users.”

More Information:

skyguardgroup.com

www.bsia.co.uk

As it continues to strengthen its operations, MuxLab has appointed Robert Brzymowski and Mario Chieco to be its new Western USA and Midwest USA Regional Sales Managers.

With extensive experience in sales and customer service, Robert and Mario will oversee MuxLab’s sales activity in each appointed region with the support from the corporate MuxLab team based in Montreal.

Daniel Assaraf, President of MuxLab, said: “We are happy that Robert and Mario have joined our team to represent MuxLab in the United States. Both come with experience and knowledge in sales and each brings new sales strategies and ideas to our existing global sales team. The addition of Robert and Mario allows us to blend their skills with ours to continue to build lasting relationships with new and existing customers in these important regions.”

With Robert and Mario as a part of the team, MuxLab can better support customers in Western and Midwest USA and continue to work to increase our presence in the CCTV and Audio Video markets.

About MuxLab

MuxLab Inc. is a leading designer and manufacturer of connectivity solutions that allow CCTV and Audio-Video equipment to be connected via cost-efficient Cat5e/6 copper twisted pair in the structured cabling environment. For over 25 years, the MuxLab brand has been synonymous with quality, performance and reliability. MuxLab solutions streamline cabling by reducing material, space, and installation costs.

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For more information;
www.muxlab.com
videoease@muxlab.com
514-905-0588

Vivotek hosted more than a hundred of its clients and partners at the 2nd VPP (Vivotek Partners’ Party) of the year at the BANK restaurant in Birmingham.

During Secutech Taipei, Vivotek has held the first partners’ party for global partners. By following the end of the first partners’ party in Taipei in April, Vivotek held the second party in Birmingham, UK especially for partners who have attended IFSEC. Vivotek took the party as a token of gratitude towards partners’ commitment and dedication. Besides, Vivotek also has strong faith in further fortifying the mutual trust and cooperation through the close interaction and cheerful communication.

In the party, Vivotek held an awards ceremony for partners as the recognition of their outstanding business achievement, growth and contributions. A lottery game with top prizes as a round trip flight ticket to Taiwan and iPad mini was arranged. Additionally, a lovely and colorful “I Love VVTK” T-shirt was given to party participants as a souvenir of this annual gathering.

Steve Ma, Vivotek’s executive VP, stated: “This evening was amazing! The party with joyfulness completely lighted up our communication and cooperation with our partners! With hand in hand, I believe that we are to make 2013 another fruitful year.”

More Information:

John Davies, managing director of TDSi, is taking part in the gruelling Challenge 104.8 event, which will see runners taking part in four marathons over two days.

Four runners will cover an impressive 104.8 miles each and other team members will be cycling half the route with others running the last marathon. The event, which is being held in support of Wings for Warriors, Bosom Buddies, SPARKS and The Not Forgotten Association, will follow a route which starts at Goodwood Aerodrome near Chichester in Sussex, taking the runners along the South Coast to the finish point at the Virgin Active Club in Poole, Dorset.

Now reaching the pinnacle of his training regime, Davies commented, “My initial motivation for taking part in the challenge was obviously to support the four excellent charitable causes. But on a more personal level, the training regime (both physical and mental) has been a real eye-opener for me, helping to focus my mind and putting a new perspective on the pressures and opportunities of running a successful UK-based business. I’m also looking forward to seeing the South Coast from a different perspective – as well as the benefits of becoming really fit, I am personally gaining a lot from the experience too!”

Having taken on the grueling training programme, which has involved taking on longer and longer training runs, Davies and the team only have a week before the big event. However, it’s something he views with excitement rather than trepidation.

He added, “As a company TDSi takes its social responsibility very seriously and regularly supports worthy causes, but taking part in Challenge 104.8 has given me the opportunity to do something directly for charity, which is incredibly rewarding. I have had a tremendous amount of support, not only from the other runners but also from everyone who has helped me train and the huge generosity of those that have sponsored us. We still have room to raise even more money, so I would ask everyone to please think about donating whatever they can towards these outstanding charities.”

Wings for Warriors is a UK registered charity that aims to re-train injured service personnel as commercial pilots. For many soldiers, life outside of the forces can appear scary and uncertain at the best of times. Add a life changing injury to the equation and the future can quickly become a depressing place to be. The charity provides students with the skills to achieve an exciting and challenging future outside of the confines of military life.

Bosom Buddies was founded in June 2011 and aims to inform, educate and potentially help save lives of both men and women by showing how to look for the earliest signs of Breast Cancer and what you should do to act upon them. Its ‘Buddies’ system has been established to help and advise secondary school girls on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. This support network also provides woman of all ages with someone to turn to if they are worried.

SPARKS was formed in 1991, and aims to improve the quality of life for children and families affected by serious illness or disability. It also seeks ways to better diagnose, treat and prevent these conditions in the future. The charity has pioneered research projects across a wide spectrum of medical conditions including childhood cancers, cerebral palsy, premature birth and spina bifida. In total, the charity has funded over 250 research projects in more than 80 hospitals and universities across the UK. The medical breakthroughs it makes possible make a difference not only across the UK but for thousands of children and families around the world.

The Not Forgotten Association is a unique tri-service charity which provides entertainment and recreation for the serving wounded and the ex-service community with disabilities. In order to fund and deliver its broad programme of activities it relies heavily on the generosity of other charities, grant-giving trusts, commercial organisations, associations, groups and individuals.

More Information:

For more information on TDSi and John Davies’ participation in the Challenge 104.8, please visit www.tdsi.co.uk or call 01202 723 535.

Oprema have secured the rights to distribute Milestone Systems open platform IP video management software as part of Milestone’s strategic decision to work with specialist IP security suppliers in the UK.  Milestone XProtect software has been keenly welcomed by Oprema’s existing client base, and it is anticipated that this collaboration will further new business interest for the Cardiff based security distributor.

Oprema have been championing IP technology for a number of years, and it is for this reason that Milestone has added them to its exclusive UK distributor list. Oprema will offer not only the full suite of software products but will be hosting Milestone Certified and Milestone Professional training courses as the only authorised independent Milestone Systems training centre in the UK. The training courses will cater for first time users through to experienced users looking to broaden their knowledge. The training will also include configuration, set up and use of supported hardware.

Milestone was Oprema’s desired partner for IP video surveillance software because it is scalable and easy to use. Customers will be able to purchase software licences only or as   part of  a custom built server solution offered by Oprema.

Oprema’s managing director Matthew Epps said: “We are delighted to be offering such a high-end and well regarded product as Milestone XProtect with our IP solutions. The agreement is a significant one for us, and shows how much of an impact Oprema are making in the market place, in moving the trade towards IP by offering cost effective packages as well as high-end solutions to suit any budget and application.  Milestone fits in perfectly with its complete range of software options from XProtect Go right through to XProtect Corporate.”

Glenn Fletcher, country manager UK & Ireland for Milestone, added: “Milestone Systems are happy to have Oprema on board as a new UK distributor. They will be able to help with technical training and server designs, leveraging the Microsoft and IP skills that they already have in house. Oprema are also our gateway into Wales as a distributor, which was another key reason for selecting them to be part of our expanding Milestone UK team of partners. We aim to grow together in the coming years as the Milestone open platform VMS approach continues to be embraced in the UK.”

Since the agreement was signed in January 2013, Oprema have successfully won a number of projects with Milestone VMS pre-loaded on Oprema’s in-house manufactured servers. This is ensuring that the partnership is a winning combination for UK installers by offering a cost-effective solution with the highest level technology available on the market today.

Euro Car Parks have chosen to deploy Wavesight’s outdoor wireless CCTV transmission at multiple Sainsbury car park locations throughout the UK.

Sainsbury, one of Britain’s leading food retailers with over 1,000 stores nationwide, offers its customers free parking. However, not all visitors to Sainsbury’s car parks actually use the store resulting in lost sales and revenue.

Requirement

Sainsbury stores are often located in town centres where car parking is limited. This means it is vital for the supermarket to ensure that customers have somewhere to park when they visit Sainsbury’s to shop. However, the nationwide store chain began noticing that not all of the people using their car parks were in fact shopping at their stores, thereby reducing the number of spaces available for their customers. This situation was associated directly with the loss of revenue experienced by Sainsbury, leading to the supermarket deciding to manage and control their car parks more effectively.

The national car park management company, Euro Car Parks (ECP), was appointed to install the latest ANPR technology to combat this growing trend of ‘rogue’ parking. People leaving their vehicles in the supermarket’s car parks for over the permitted time will now automatically receive a Parking Charge Notice through the post.

The solution

To achieve effective monitoring, ECP enlisted the help of general building firm MERR Construction to install a PIPS ANPR camera solution that would read and store the number plates of any vehicles entering and exiting the Sainsbury car parks managed by ECP.

To avoid any potential disruption to shoppers and to keep costs as low as possible, ECP decided to use wireless technology as a transmission medium for sending the number plate images from the ANPR cameras back to the stores, where they were then stored on their network. This solution meant that costly civil engineering works to install a fibre network to the camera location were not needed, power for the wireless radios and cameras is provided via an existing car park lighting column.

Wavesight’s WaveSPRINT point-to-point links, optimised for short distance and low bandwidth transmission, were chosen to transmit the number plate images. WaveSPRINT eliminates the planning delays and disruption associated with laying fibre or leasing lines. This means lower deployment costs and a faster return on investment, in addition to a rapidly re-deployable asset.

James Carey, project manager at Euro Car Parks, said: “We were confident that Wavesight could come up with a low-cost car park solution that would allow us to deploy our ANPR cameras at a number of Sainsbury car parks across the UK. The link required was fast to install and minimised any disruption to Sainsbury’s customers”