Why physical security still matters in 2022

It is a 2:00 AM Monday, and you are resting comfortably at your home, 45 minutes away from your store. It is a well-deserved rest since you finally received a large shipment of high in demand inventory worth £15M. You are sleeping soundly, assured that the £300 locks you installed will keep intruders out of your premises. Also, a sophisticated security alarm system installed at your store worth £1500 will hopefully scare away any intruders just in case they somehow pick your locks. In addition, you also invested £2000 in a CCTV system which has 4K cameras recording every corner of your store 247. Two people with face masks pick the locks on your cargo access shutter and break-in. The alarms begin blaring with your CCTV recording the intrusion. You get an alert message on your cell phone, and you notice it, but it takes you minutes before registering that intruders broke-in your store. You jump out of bed and hurriedly drive to your store. Finally there, you find that more than half your inventory is gone, the shutters are open, the alarms are blaring, and your CCTV captures your disappointment on cameras.If your business relies solely on traditional locks, CCTV and security alarm systems to keep things in check, your business, site, employees, and customers are at risk. Physical locks have different types; however, they all serve the same purpose, to prevent access by physically blocking a door or shutter from opening. CCTV systems capture live events through cameras displayed on TVMonitor screens and record them on a dedicated hard disk. A security alarm consists of sensors that trigger a loud siren at the occurrence of an unauthorised entry into a building. Many businesses, possibly even yours, consider their premises secure with any combination of these systems. However, what happens when someone picks your lock in the middle of the night? Imagine, your sophisticated CCTV captures a theft in progress, but no one is watching the screens to react. Your earth-shaking alarms are blaring, but you live at a distance from your business, and it will take you a half-an-hour to get to your store. That is more than enough time for any intruder to help themselves to your hard-earned cash in the till or cause substantial damage to your inventory. How secure is your business with locks, CCTV and security alarms alone?These systems augment your security as tools that assist your security guards with their jobs. Security guards are often the first souls present on the undesired scene as their responsibility include:Patrolling and monitoring your premises at all timesInforming the authorities on 999 in the event of a break-in or emergenciesProtecting access to facilities and equipmentThink of CCTV and alarm systems as alert mechanisms — on their own, these systems cannot address undesirable occurrences. Security officers with or without these systems, are the first to respond by either deterring such an intrusion in the first place, or alerting the authorities or a combination of the two. Waqas Ahmed, the CEO of a booming start-up EarnFlex, during a conversation on the subject, said:“Anything that can open, like a lock, will be opened with the right ‘persuasion’ even though access is unauthorised. CCTV systems simply record post-event evidence, whereas alarm systems alert a close vicinity. These systems can certainly augment a security officer’s performance, but they can not replace one. Why would any self-respecting business not contract security officers when having one on your premises provides a higher level of deterrence and reduces insurance premiums by up to 4 times.”Technology is an enabler that improves guarding practices and renders overall business continuity plans more effective. EarnFlex is a next-generation flexible staffing platform that provides companies with unrivalled control over sourcing, engaging and managing qualified, flexible workers. With access to thousands of SIA qualified professional security operatives thru EarnFlex’s industry-first app-based technology, you can have befitting security operatives on your premises within 24 hours. Get in touch with EarnFlex today, and rest uninterrupted with the assurance that a professional security operative is keeping a keen eye on things for you.