Protection, not price, should be first consideration

Selecting the right security system begins with determining the needs of the business to be protected.

Business owners interested in purchasing a security system should ask themselves what their primary concerns are and what security issues need to be addressed, according to Bruce Jones, security services manager of ProTel Systems. The system "should be easy to use and applicable to your business," Jones said.

The best security system for a company depends on the type of business and the value of the merchandise kept in the building, said Bruce Headley, community service supervisor for the Springfield Police Department. "There are many factors to take into consideration."

Because a monitored security system can be fairly expensive, "a business manager would want to weigh the cost of the system against their best estimate of potential for loss," Headley said, adding that the personal safety of employees and customers is another factor to consider.

Jones added that a special offer may seem like a bargain, but it might not be the ideal system for everyone.

"One of the worst determinants of a security system is price," he said. "It doesn't have to be expensive to be good, but if you didn't pay anything for it, it's probably not very good. You have to be really cautious."

Choosing a company

The company a business chooses to provide its security system can be as important as the system itself.

Jones said the prospective customer should ask how long the salesman has been in the security system business, how long the company has been operating and how long it has been in Springfield.

"Find out how secure they are," Jones said. "Do they have a place of business or are they working out of the trunk of their car?"

Also, Jones recommended caution in the case of a company that only offers one type of system. "They're not interested in designing a system to meet your needs," he said. "They're just trying to sell you what they have."

Length of contract also is an issue. "A five-year contract locks you in, and they don't have to earn your business for another five years," Jones said.

On camera

Cameras are a helpful tool for crime prevention and employee safety, said Mike Johnson, national sales consultant for Electronic Video Systems. EVS is a distributor for more than 200 different manufacturers of closed-circuit TV equipment

Cameras "give you peace of mind," Johnson said. "If you're exchanging money over the counter, I recommend having a security system in place."

There is a greater risk of a holdup in retail businesses, Jones said, so it's a good idea for those businesses to use alarm systems in conjunction with closed-circuit TV.

Cameras should be strategically placed so that if a robbery does occur, there will be a clear picture of the perpetrator, Jones said. "That makes it easier for the police to do their job."

At the Police Department, "we like cameras," Headley said. "They act as a deterrent and provide valuable clues." If video monitoring is taking place, the business owner should make sure the area being monitored stays well lit, he added.

Johnson said that while some people want a covert system, others want visible cameras that act as a deterrent. There are many different kinds of cameras, lenses and recorders to choose from, he said. Some systems use several cameras to capture footage that can be viewed from another location and played back if an incident occurs.

Alarms as deterrents

Alarm systems vary, but the two basic types are hard-wired and wireless, Jones said. The type of detector can vary, also. Motion detectors offer interior coverage of large areas of the building, while perimeter systems secure an area by monitoring doors and windows. It's important to determine which areas need to be protected, Jones said. "You can spend a lot of money covering areas that are not high-risk areas."

According to Headley, it's important to find out what will happen to the alarm if the phone line is cut. "There have been a lot of burglaries in the past year or so where this has happened," he said. Cutting the phone line causes some alarms to be disabled, and causes other alarms to go off if someone severs the line.

Headley also recommended the business owner find out what will happen when the alarm goes off. He said that the police frequently encounter situations in which an alarm is sounding but there's no one around and no one to contact.

"We check the building for any signs of forced entry," Headley said. "But after that, there's nothing more we can do." Headley recommends using a system that will reset or shut itself off if no one can be contacted. "The alarm company should also have a list of people who can respond when the alarm goes off, whether it's a false alarm or a real incident."

False alarms, monitoring

More than 90 percent of alarms are actually false, or "nuisance" alarms, said Rick Carter, president of Midwest Security Inc. When Carter started the company 16 years ago, "there was no one out there to answer the alarms except the Police Department," he said. Now, companies like his are the first to respond.

With a few exceptions such as banks, the Police Department doesn't handle calls directly from alarm systems anymore, Headley said. "Several years ago they did away with setting alarms to automatically dial 911. It needs to go through an alarm company."

Midwest Security monitors alarm systems for various companies, including American Detection, ADT, Atlas and Federal. "We're the largest security company in town, and we answer quite a lot of alarms," he said. "We answer a call and investigate the situation," Carter said. "If there's a break-in, we call the police."

In the case of a "smash and grab," in which a window or door is broken and merchandise is stolen, the thief can be several blocks away before anyone arrives at the scene, Headley said. So, even with the best security system in place, he recommends taking as many other preventive steps as possible.

"It helps to have good sturdy locks, keep bushes trimmed away from doors and windows, and keep the area visible and well-lit. Visibility is a deterrent to criminal activity," Headley said.