Yesterday, I stopped by a client in Marietta to add a phone line in their office. When there, I was told that the business next door had had a break-in the preceding evening. Although they had a security system, there were no security signs on the door, on the window or in the grass prior to the main entrance. The front door glass was missing in the main entrance.
To my surprise, the property manager was in the suite, the owner of the business, his wife and the current security camera vendor who had installed both the camera system as well as the security system all looking for evidence of the individual had done this. As I entered the room, you could tell that all were agitated and upset. All looked like they were about to strangle each other and having been there through the night you could see they all were tired. Lack of sleep, feeling of violation, loss of property and the cleaning up of the mess had taken its toll and they had about all they could handle.
Although they had captured the moment the front door was broken, it was evening and the type of cameras that they had installed were only day camera’s, which made what they had captured on the recorder unusable. At this point the owner of the business was feeling that the vendor had misrepresented the products he sold them, installed them improperly and had wasted most of the day trying to retrieve information that did not exist.
In my opinion, the vendor did make some mistakes. So that we all learn from this, lets take a quick look at the whole picture. Most burglary takes place in the non-daylight hours. Georgia is ranked 13 th of 50 states with the most burglar activities in the country. So the probability of intrusion is real. There are 300 burglary’s reported per month here in Cobb County and in my opinion is a real threat.
First, no signs in the windows are an invitation for intrusion. Second, having no siren in the suite was an added mistake and third, test the system once a month when you have one, just to make sure it is working. Fourth, the price for the right camera was negligible vs. the cost that is always greater and definitely worth the added investment. He also installed the recorder in an obvious location and it was a wonder that was still on site. Simple mistakes made caused this customer to discover that price is greater than cost.
To have the right camera, would have cost them $ 150.00 more for the right day/night camera. Cost for the repair of the door, probably around $ 600 and loss of property, sleep and trust, you be the judge.
Always hire a licensed, certified and qualified security company to protect your business and home.
