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Note to shoplifters — more and more retailers are going to be keeping an eye on you.

According to surveys by the EHI Retail Institute (Cologne, Germany), nearly one in three retail chains are either planning to increase the use of camera systems or use them for the first time. Helping push that trend are advances in digital video technology, which offer a range of new, easy to use applications for retailers.

At-Risk Retail Sectors

The EHI finds that the use of video technology in stores is appropriate to monitor products particularly at risk from theft, such as cosmetics, cigarettes, razor blades, spirits, fashion articles, as well as to monitor sensitive points such as repacking areas or special sales promotions outdoors.

But cameras can also be helpful at cash registers, in warehouses or in goods receiving areas and at points where there is a threat to people due to the presence of large amounts of cash, money transports and valuable non-cash items. Combining digital video technology and cash register data is particularly useful in analyzing receipt data to clear up crime. Thanks to interfaces with the cash register software, cash register transactions can be inserted directly into the video image, either by accessing the transaction data directly from the network or by a link to the receipt printer interface.

Camera support can also make the use of store detectives more cost-effective. According to EHI, the average cost recovery rate for detectives without camera support is only 13.2 percent Yet, for detectives with camera support, the average cost recovery rate is 22.6 percent, or 70 percent more successful.

Combining video cameras with a burglar alarm system can also offer advantages, including the transmission of images to an emergency service center for pre-screening. In the case of an alarm, this guarantees remote surveillance and permits efficient counter-measures to be taken, including confronting the offender directly. Even if the burglar alarm system is deactivated, alarm transmitters can be used to control the camera.

Sensors Offer Efficiency

One option increasingly used by retailers is the installation of video sensors, which react to movement in specified image areas. When the video is switched on, the entire alarm operation can be documented if desired. This offers several advantages, including a more efficient use of image-storage capacity and a decrease in the amount of monotonous surveillance duties faced by security personnel.

For all its potential in reducing in-store theft, the EHI cautions that retailers must keep legal considerations in mind if they plan to use video recordings as evidence in court. Even on company premises, privacy rights must not be violated.

The EHI, in conjunction with Messe Düsseldorf GmbH (Düsseldorf, Germany), will explore advances in security technology for retail at EuroCIS 2007, February 27-March 1, 2007, in Düsseldorf, Germany. For more information on that event, visit www.eurocis.com.

 

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