Today there is a new and less expensive way to secure your property. The internet and AI-enabled security cameras have together created a new service known as the virtual security guard. It’s a more efficient way for businesses to use human eyes to guard their assets.
Traditionally, a live guard patrol protects property, but these guards are expensive. Now you can let cameras do the hard work of observing your business 24/7/365. On the other end of the surveillance camera, a remote security guard can monitor the entire property through a screen.
What is a Virtual Security Guard?
A remote security guard watches your property from afar through video surveillance cameras. Remote monitoring systems incorporating virtual security guards require several components:
With technology, the old ways of securing your property are obsolete. Now we have tools to see farther and respond faster than ever before. Let’s review what remote security guards can and can’t do to understand this service better.
What Can a Virtual Security Guard Do?
A virtual security guard has significant benefits over its on-site counterparts. A virtual security guard:
High-definition cameras see further and into the darkest corners. Human security guards may have trouble seeing in low-light conditions. A virtual security guard can use cameras specially equipped for low light conditions to see, literally, everywhere on your property.
Virtual security guards can respond quickly to suspicious situations. They can respond without putting themselves at risk. The guard can even engage a potential criminal from afar with modern video surveillance tools. For example, if a person enters a restricted area after hours, a remote security guard can talk to them through a two-way speaker on the camera. This interaction protects your business while also protecting the human guarding your property.
Remote security guards can also control cameras from their off-site monitoring station. Depending on the type of camera, they can zoom or pan, record, or even address an intruder. Modern video surveillance cameras offer audible and visual alarm features, too. Imagine a trespasser confronted by a loud alarm and flashing lights, or their surprise when a camera starts questioning what they’re doing.
Virtual security guards can also follow specific security protocols that you create. For example, you can use this service to monitor employee behaviors to potentially catch OSHA violations, for instance. A virtual security guard can prevent on-the-job injuries. A virtual guard service is just as effective at deterring criminal behavior as spotting insider theft. There are many benefits to having a human eye in the sky. You can use the camera footage collected for training or employee supervision. It can supplement access control systems. You can use a remote guard service as a virtual concierge to greet guests at a building, or to help with parking management at large facilities or events.
Live virtual guards have all of the benefits of an on-site security presence without the risks. This service is also less expensive than hiring on-site guards. But what can’t virtual security guards handle? Are there any drawbacks?
What Can’t a Virtual Security Guard Do?
A remote security guard can’t be on-site at your property to interact with a criminal. Depending on your mindset, this can be a good or bad thing, as discussed above. The physical presence of a human being on your property may deter crime. However, using security guards at your property also increases the risk that they will encounter a dangerous situation that could harm them. No one wants to see that person hurt. Even the best-trained on-site security teams are not the police.
Furthermore, no immediate on-site assistance is available for someone at your business. While a remote guard can talk to a person through the two-way speaker system, they simply are not there. The job of a virtual guard is to communicate with anyone on-site after hours, or to respond appropriately by dispatching first responders. If you’re using this service to monitor existing employees in real time, their job may be to document behaviors.
No matter how you use a virtual security guard service, they are not on-site. Depending on your mindset and needs, this could be a benefit or a drawback. For instance, an on-site security guard can notice a window an employee left open, or turn off a faucet left running. A virtual security guard might notice these things, but would have to dispatch someone to the site to do anything about it.
Would You Like to Know More about What Virtual Security Guards Can and Can’t Do?
Pro-Vigil is the nation’s leader in designing, installing, and maintaining video surveillance. To find out more about our remote security guard service, contact us at 1-866-616-1318.
FAQ
A remote security guard can watch all corners of your business simultaneously by using on-site video surveillance cameras. This service eliminates the risks of a live security guard presence. Remote security guard service watches your business from afar by using IP-enabled cloud connected cameras. This observation occurs from an off-site security center. The virtual guard can watch everything going on 24/7/365 without putting themselves at physical risk of encountering a dangerous situation.
A remote security guard can’t be on-site at your property. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. Having a physical human might deter crime, and they can also fix little problems they encounter. However, this does put a human in harm’s way, which could be a source of liability.
