Mexico. According to Francisco Rodríguez, Professional Services Manager of Axis Communications, and according to the National Survey of Victimization and Perception of Public Security (ENVIPE), coordinated by the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI), last year, 41.8 percent of all Mexican households invested in video surveillance solutions. On the other hand, according to the National Council of Private Security (CNSP), in Mexico, companies allocate between 6 and 12 percent of their income in protection and surveillance to avoid being victims of robberies or other types of crimes.
While the importance of IP video surveillance solutions is growing rapidly, there is a trend that consists of outsourcing security to external providers. This is not only a reality in corporate and critical infrastructure facilities, but the country's medium-sized companies are recently increasing the hiring of specialized security services to keep their assets safe and secure, being a more efficient alternative to traditional anti-theft alarms.
However, many business owners, when they think of a video surveillance center, what they visualize are spacious rooms with dozens of monitors. So your next question is: How can people monitor in parallel the multiple screens where the videos are projected in real time, without losing detail of any situation that may occur in the locations?
The answer is that, currently, security centers are introducing video analytics in order to make the work more efficient. These solutions not only reduce staffing requirements in companies, but also improve accuracy and enable unlimited, remote, real-time surveillance to monitor various activities. For example, analytics for intrusion detection, facial recognition, car license plate recognition, and people counting are included. These applications can improve forensic investigations with a classification according to whether they are people, animals or vehicles. Advanced algorithms make it possible to identify and interpret scenes, faster and more accurately compared to the vision of security workers. Therefore, the contracting of security as a service can really become an opportunity for small and medium-sized companies that do not have a high budget to invest in the security of their establishments and, at the same time, take advantage of these business advantages.
Another benefit that directly impacts the performance of organizations is, with the help of strategically located cameras that integrate advanced video analytics, they will have to hire fewer operators to monitor the facilities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in addition to being able to react more quickly and adequately to any incident since these applications activate alerts in real time before any suspicious situation, including a person who is walking through restricted areas or someone who is trying to alter property, including video cameras.
The moment the video analytics app has alerted an operator to an incident, they can check the alarm before sending it to security guards at the specific location. In this sense, it reduces the number of false alarms and unnecessary displacements due to emergencies and therefore, security professionals can focus on the areas where they are most needed. Sometimes, the most effective response is based on persuading the intruder by letting him know that he is being observed and recorded through a camera. Speakers connected to the system allow operators to cope with the unauthorized person while the cameras transmit their reactions. By not requiring physical fitness guards for these situations, companies can save a high percentage that will ultimately result in a better price for the end customer.
In conclusion, the use of video analytics applications is growing rapidly in companies of all sizes and sectors in addition to pushing the evolution of the functioning of the security industry. Undoubtedly, they will not make the security guards completely replaced since it is up to them, on many occasions, to validate any alarm that is activated and make the right decision at the time of reacting. However, these technologies help make their work more efficient, while also as organizations get a higher return on investment from their video surveillance systems.
