Isn't it about time installers looked more closely at physical security? This humble but effective element of the security mix is often overlooked in an assessment of the security risk.

You can have state of the art detectors installed and then back this up with a camera to observe when a break-in occurs ... but what if a simple grille costing a small percentage of the electronic equipment could prevent the breach in the first place?

With physical security products, the aim is simply to avoid unwanted visitors. Many times I've seen a small fortune invested in CCTV and digital recording giving the owners and police an excellent insight into a raid, which has occurred. The police have clear evidence and the owner can see exactly what happened and at what time.

The police are now in the process of issuing URN's to remotely monitored CCTV systems that meet strict requirements. Monitoring stations can issue challenges ‘live’ in a bid to dissuade would-be burglars and then inform the police of what is happening.

But what about prevention rather than reaction? Why not stop or slow down these individuals in the first place rather than have a crystal clear motion picture of events?

For instance, rising bollards will prevent easy access for a vehicle loading stolen property or prevent it removing an expensive car.

Sure, the CCTV monitoring will have it all documented and the police will respond if a URN has been issued, but the car has been driven away.

Any delay in carrying out an attack is the single factor most perpetrators fear, as arrest is a lot worse than detection.

Any physical barrier be it a simple grille or a gate will provide a solution which does not depend on electricity or phone lines to carry out it's main duties.

I'm not a luddite who wants to smash up the looms, but sometimes tried and tested technology can still be used to assist modern innovation.

Isn't that story about NASA spending billions on developing a pen that would be useable in space when the Russians simply used a pencil, a good example?

Simple products can supplement or support the sophistication of electronic security. Whilst not being fashionable they are effective.

Ray Puttock, rayp@jdurrance.co.uk J Durrance and Co Ltd

Source

Security Installer