Keeping Would-Be Thieves At Bay

Nation's Business, Oct, 1998 by Janine Latus Musick

Janine Latus Musick is a free-lance writer in Columbia, Mo.

Before choosing a security system for your firm, decide what you want to protect and how high-tech a deterrent you need.

Universal Gear in Washington, D.C., sells hip casual wear for young men. To deter shoplifting, owner David Franco aimed a security camera at the front door. But fleet-footed thieves who grabbed fashion statements and ran out had little or no fear of being stopped. Sure, shoplifters' pictures were being captured by the camera, but thefts and suspicious activities weren't being spotted in time for managers to take effective action.

So Franco installed a four-camera system that displays images from key locations throughout the store on split screens in the manager's office and the executive offices.

"I can see in real time what's happening on the floor," Franco says. 'I'm looking for suspicious activity from potential shoplifters as well as at my staff's work performance."

Although Franco chose a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system to help deter theft at his store, a similar system might be too much or too little for other types of business. No security system is the perfect choice for every business.

The system that would be right for your company depends on the kind of business you run. A good lock might be enough if you're running an upholstery shop, but high-tech, controlled-access doorways and video surveillance might be necessary if you're a software developer.

Before investing in a security system, ask yourself what security threat you're trying to minimize. "Security has to be specifically tailored to the application," says Isaac Papier, manager of engineering services for Underwriters Laboratory, which, in conjunction with the insurance industry, has been rating security systems for more than 75 years. "The business owner needs to sit down and carefully think about what represents a threat."

Nationwide, shoplifting costs U.S. businesses an estimated $30 billion a year, according to the Insurance Information Institute in New York City. Even more staggering is the more than $100 billion that researchers say is lost to embezzlement. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in Austin, Texas, says businesses lose closer to $400 billion--or about $9 a day per employee--when other forms of employee theft are included.

In convenience stores, for example, about 80 percent of what's stolen goes home with employees, says Art Lunt, general manager for the 18-store Henny Penny chain in Connecticut. Each of his stores has at least three CCTV cameras; one catches the face of everyone who comes through the door, another is behind the cash register, and a third is aimed down the aisles to spot shoplifters.

In fact, convenience-store owners have found that the visibility of cameras and monitors appears to deter robberies and theft. Not only are the stores made safer by the installation of such systems but profits are bolstered as well when fewer hoagies and candy bars go out the door in employees' pockets.

In 1996, the latest year for which the Security Industry Association (SIA) has figures, sales of CCTV systems totaled more than $758 million. Since then, the total probably has doubled, says Richard Chace, director of communications for the SIA, based in Alexandria, Va. Likewise, sales of systems that limit people's access to particular rooms or buildings have jumped from $1.5 billion in 1996 to a projected $5 billion this year, he says.

A lot of that growth has come from insurance-industry demands that hotels make their guest rooms accessible by access cards rather than keys by 2000 in order to remain eligible for insurance. It's harder to break into a room with an electronic lock than one with a tumbler lock, Chace says.

Overall, U.S. businesses spent $82.3 billion on security systems in 1996, according to the SIA. Following are the major types of systems chosen by companies to meet their particular security needs.

Closed-Circuit TV

"CCTV cameras have gone from being big and bulky to being fiber-optic lenses you could stick in the eye of a teddy bear," says Chace, "On average, they've gone from the size of a shoe box down to about the size of a bar of soap."

Do-it-yourself models are available, but most businesses hire a security-system contractor for purchase and installation.

Franco of Universal Gear uses a professionally installed system made by Ultrak, Inc., of Carrollton, Texas. The company also offers a do-it-yourself model, sold under the Exxis brand name at discount clubs nationwide. The systems cost as little as $200 for a 12-inch monitor and one camera. Additional cameras and bigger monitors are available.

There are substantial differences, though, between a do-it-yourself model and one installed by professionals.

"A professional will be better able to understand the business owner's needs and translate those needs into the right product in the right place," says Jeff Blum, vice president for strategic development at Ultrak.

In addition, professionally installed systems have features not available on the discount-club model. These features "can be important or completely irrelevant" depending on the circumstances, Blum says.