Technology Set to Sound Death Knell for Age of the Security Guard
Security guards could go the same way as the dodo within a few short years as new licensing laws, the EU working time directive and advances in new technology become a reality. At the moment, UK businesses tend to choose technology, supported by on-site manpower, when it comes to protecting their assets. Pointer, one of the UKÂ’s leading providers of IP and integrated hybrid security solutions, predicts that traditional security guards could effectively become extinct within the next 15 years if technology continues to develop at current rates.
(PRWEB) June 17, 2005
Security guards could go the same way as the dodo within a few short years as new licensing laws, the EU working time directive and advances in new technology become a reality.
At the moment, UK businesses tend to choose technology, supported by on-site manpower, when it comes to protecting their assets.
Pointer, one of the UKÂ’s leading providers of IP and integrated hybrid security solutions, predicts that traditional security guards could effectively become extinct within the next 15 years if technology continues to develop at current rates.
“Technology is taking security into a new era, with systems such as IntelligentVideo offering 24-hour protection that doesn’t need a comfort break, shift changes or holidays,” said Sandy Rowan, Pointer's Managing Director.
“IntelligentVideo brings a whole new level of intelligence, efficiency and cost savings to both entry-level and enterprise security systems, reducing manpower requirements and increasing the overall level of security in an organisation.”
The manned guarding industry is already under intense pressure from government legislation introduced on April 1 this year. A new regulatory authority, the Security Industry Authority (SIA), is now responsible for licensing and regulating all security guards in the UK, and the attached red tape and additional costs it has brought is already having an effect on the industry.
Security guards will now have to pass a criminal background check, display effective communications skills in English and reach set levels of training and professional standards in order to gain a license, and it will become a criminal offence to work in these sectors without an SIA license.
In addition, the industry is also subject to the EUÂ’s Working Time Directive. This could make it increasingly expensive and eventually prohibatively expensive for companies to maintain the same levels of cover. Restrictions on shift patterns, night working and compulsory health and medical checks could be the final nail in the coffin for security guards.
“The advent of IntelligentVideo software is completely revolutionising video monitoring and management processes, and its capabilities can be customised for an unlimited number of specific applications and environments,” added Mr Rowan.
“No longer is a person required to watch hours of continuous live or recorded video to analyse or identify interesting events. Rather, once IntelligentVideo detects unusual activity, it pushes only relevant information to the monitoring agent, who can determine the appropriate response, or it can take automatic action on its own.”
Intelligent Video makes use of the latest in Smart Video Motion Detection (VMD) technology. The software can be configured to trigger video recording or issue alerts whenever such a change occurs. Smart VMD has built-in filters to ignore camera vibrations, differentiate between people, cars and animals and identify true motion as opposed to rain, snow and shadows across the ground.
Mr Rowan continued: “In the near future we are going to see even more advances in the security industry that will look at how we protect businesses, individuals as well as property and personal possessions. The security industry is at the beginning of its own electronic revolution which will transform the nature of the business and the quality of the service it provides.
Notes to Editors
A forward-thinking security solutions provider with an international client base, Pointer is involved in the development and roll-out of leading-edge security products such as IP security and Biometrics and has a proven track record in designing and installing integrated security networks across a range of industries and sectors.
Founded in 1972, the rapidly growing Glasgow-based company has offices in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds. Pointer has also broken into the South Asian security market, establishing a Bangkok operation in 2001.
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