When it comes to protecting retail dispensaries and grow facilities from outside crime, many cannabusiness owners turn to video surveillance technology. They rely on their video systems to keep trespassers, thieves, vandals and other criminals from gaining access to their property and committing a crime.
Insider Threats Pose Tremendous Risk
Reports estimate up to 90% of financial and product loss in the marijuana industry results from employee theft. And, according to the Wharton School of Business Public Policy Initiative, the average loss per theft incident is between $20,000 and $50,000. With the financial loss so high, even one robbery could deal cannabusinesses a devastating blow.
the average loss per theft incident is between $20,000 and $50,000.
Insider threats pose a very real risk to dispensaries and grow facilities, and business owners need to recognize that the threat goes beyond that of an employee stealing product at the end of a shift. Employees could leave dispensary doors unlocked at the end of the night, so their bad actor friends can gain easy access to product. Or they could turn off motion sensors outside a grow facility to enable trespassing.
Intelligent video surveillance systems with artificial intelligence (AI) can help cannabusinesses defend against insider threats of this nature, while maintaining a focus on outside crime deterrence.
The Power of AI
Cannabis dispensaries and grow facilities often contain two high value targets: cash and the actual marijuana plants. And while cash can be locked up in a safe, dozens – or even hundreds – of plants can be hard to monitor and secure. AI-powered security cameras can help here, as the technology can identify specific objects, classify them and make decisions based on that data.
Let’s say a camera learns that there is always a marijuana plant in row 1, spot 4 at a grow facility. If that plant is stolen, AI can identify the pixilation anomaly (i.e., something that is usually there, is no longer there) to help business owners quickly detect and respond to theft – whether that plant is taken from insiders or criminals not affiliated with the company.
AI-powered security cameras also can be trained to recognize normal traffic and human behavior patterns, and alert business owners when something deviates from the norm. For example, let’s say employee X, who is never spotted on camera taking the trash out, is seen bringing a trash bag out the back door just before closing time.
An intelligent AI-powered security camera could flag this as an anomaly for a manager to check up on (was that employee actually taking out the trash, or were they unlocking the back door for nefarious purposes?).
All-Around Crime Deterrence
AI is transforming physical security by making threat detection and response much faster and more accurate. When it comes to deterring crime, every second counts, and these technologies are significantly accelerating threat detection and response time.
With AI-powered intelligent video surveillance systems, the crime deterrence possibilities are endless – both for insider and outsider threats. Pro-Vigil combines remote video monitoring services with AI-powered live video surveillance backed by real humans who can identify suspicious activity.
This powerful combination enables cannabusinesses to detect threats within 18 seconds and deter crime within 30. And, we’re a partner you can trust to protect your dispensary or grow facility from all types of crime. Contact us today to find out how we can help you reduce your security risk.
