SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEMS IN CONVENIENCE STORES

Transcription

1 SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEMS IN CONVENIENCE STORES Open late and located near major roadways, they re called convenience stores for a reason But the very things that make them convenient also make them easy targets for criminals. Safeguarding your personnel, your patrons and your property are part of your core duties as a convenience store owner or manager. Security camera systems can be effective in deterring crime but are probably most effective in helping to apprehend assailants should a crime occur. Hardly a week goes by whereby a local newscast doesn t show security camera footage asking the viewing audience to provide law enforcement with information helping to identify the person captured by the camera. It isn t only the potential for crime that makes security camera use wise. Convenience stores benefit from security cameras in many ways. They can depict what happened in incidents of vandalism to property, a pump run off, and even slip, trip and fall claims. They help not only law enforcement, but your insurer s claims adjusters as well. Version

2 Security Camera Systems Contact Information Reporting Claims or Loss 24-hour toll free number: to: C&F RISK ENGINEERS UNDERSTAND YOUR BUSINESS Since 1822, Crum & Forster has successfully anticipated what s next. Our insurance policy is our promise to help you the policyholder in the event of a loss. It gives you a future benefit that you can count on. But C&F offers something more. Our Risk Engineers can help your operation right now. Before you ever encounter a claim, our Risk Engineers can meet you and identify actual and potential loss sources. We ll conduct a thorough study of your company that includes exposures, hazards and accident trends. Together we ll review your current loss prevention efforts, physical location, loss information and other business records to pinpoint fundamental loss causes. Then we ll create an action plan with practical recommendations to strengthen existing safety programs. We can maintain an ongoing review of it to evaluate progress and effectiveness. We can even conduct a legal exposure review of your company s agreements. Everything we do is aimed at putting into place an effective loss control strategy that works consistently over time to lower your operation s risk of loss. Our highly specialized Risk Engineers are strategically located throughout the country and have the experience, training and professionalism to provide risk management solutions to meet your business needs and contribute to your success. They have on average more than 20 years industry experience, many with roles dedicated to safety and training. And we invest not only in our insureds, but in the industry. We are members of and participate in many state associations and regularly present at industry conventions and events. These connections and experience are invaluable, and are key in assisting you in developing and deploying a modern, up-to-date safety and training program. Our solutions are both innovative and established. Whether it s Accident Event Recorders (AERs) to help identify vehicle accident causes and tailor safety training, digital tracking systems, or online video training to assure OSHA compliance, we bring you the latest technology. Matched with the experience of our Risk Engineers, your operation benefits from the engineering awareness built over a lifetime and cutting edge safety science. (continued) In both the crime and liability claim contexts, technical issues with video sometimes prevent the use of what might otherwise have been great evidence. They include: Video that is excessively grainy or generally poor quality Video that depicts only a portion of the event and not the entire event The total absence of video, because the equipment was inoperable Video that existed but has been destroyed by a daily or weekly overwrite An event that occurs just out of range of the security camera, and therefore was not visualized Security Camera Systems: Engage an Expert It s important to hire a company that specializes in security camera systems. Major box stores sell video equipment that can be used in convenience stores, but the use of a security camera system expert has advantages that are usually worth the additional cost. An expert can help your company fully exploit the benefits of having a security camera on your premises, and can also help you develop simple guidelines for the use and care of the security video captured. Who will have access to the video? Whose job is it to maintain the equipment and resulting video? For what purpose can the video be used? Generally speaking, only a manager should have access to the video and it should be used only for the purposes of establishing criminal and civil liability. These are all issues that a qualified security camera system expert can assist with. Premises Coverage The positions and coverage of security cameras are very important. Camera ranges should overlap slightly, creating interlocking fields of vision. In configuring this, the range of each camera is relevant because the goal is to not simply cover important areas of the premises, but to capture clear and usable video. Illumination is a factor in this, so adjustments to lighting in parking lots might also be necessary. The areas that should be covered include (but are not limited to): Areas outside the store Gas pump area Parking areas Entrance to restrooms Areas inside the store Exits Cashier counter (front and behind) Beverage counters Storerooms Offices Entrances to restrooms 1

3 (continued) Premises coverage is a subject that a security camera system expert can be especially helpful with. The purpose of a security camera system is to protect property and personnel by recording events that can injure them. This is different from that of a surveillance system. Cameras in a surveillance system gather information for a broad range of purposes and can pose privacy issues. Be aware that a security camera placed to capture very little of your premises, while capturing all of the activity in an adjacent private residence or even a business across the street, can cross a line into being a surveillance camera. This is especially true of cameras mounted high on a building that capture areas behind a fence, row of shrubs, or anything else intended to protect privacy. While it is true that publicly viewable areas can, for the most part, be captured on video without fear of criminal or civil penalty, this isn t always so. In some states, visual recording is not illegal so long as the camera does not enter another person s property. In other states, visual recording is not illegal, but visual recording accompanied by audio recording is illegal. And in other states, all forms of recording of events on private property might face criminal or civil penalties. Video Camera Quality High resolution cameras provide the most usable footage. 1080p resolution (True HD) is recommended, with cameras in the IP format. They can be wireless or wired over a network. Unlike older analog CCTV systems, IP cameras can be easily reconfigured by a user to fit changing needs. Captured video is easily viewable over the Internet, making it easy for you to monitor your store security cameras at any time. DVRs Digital video recorders, or DVRs, offer greatly increased recording capacity over VHS tapes, and in a smaller space. They are superior to VHS recorders in many ways. It s because customers often do not report a slip and fall claim until two or even three weeks after an incident so you should purchase a DVR with sufficient recording capacity to retain video at reasonable quality for at least 30 days. It s not unusual for slip and fall claimants to report their claim weeks after the incident, so having 30 days of video can be crucial to your insurer s claims unit as it investigates. It might even be the only way it can establish what occurred. 2

4 Protecting the Security Camera System Security cameras have been known to be tampered with by thieves or people who wish to stage a slip and fall accident. For this reason cameras that are in areas accessible by the general public (as opposed to inaccessible areas, such as the one behind a checkout counter) should be positioned high enough that they cannot be reached without aid, or guarded in a cage or enclosure. Inspect the cameras and screen shots each day to ensure the cameras haven t been tampered with. Disruptions or surges in power can cause interruptions in video. Surge protection, an interruptible power supply ( UPS ) or, ideally, a backup power source should be maintained to increase the likelihood of continuous coverage in the event of a power outage. After Any Incident Save the video of the event from the time the customer enters the property and leaves. If employee related, save video from the point right before the incident occurred to a brief time after it occurred. Send this video to Crum & Forster claims department upon request. 2

5 This material is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be a representation of coverage that may exist in any particular situation under a policy issued by one of the companies within Crum & Forster. All conditions of coverage, terms, and limitations are defined and provided for in the policy. This material was developed as a general guide to safety from sources believed to be reliable and is not intended to provide legal, technical or other professional advice. These materials are not intended to replace any training or education that users may wish or need to provide to their personnel. Crum & Forster does not endorse any of the vendors listed in this publication, nor does it endorse the information, products or services that they offer or provide. Compliance with all Federal, State or local laws and regulations remain the policyholder s responsibility. The C&F logo, C&F and Crum & Forster are registered trademarks of United States Fire Insurance Company. Version