Car forecourts face a range of unique security risks. With cars lined up outside, they are relatively vulnerable to intruders with theft and vandalism often an issue.
However, with remote CCTV monitoring in place and effective perimeter security, car forecourts can enjoy the same level of security despite their openness to passersby and intruders.
This incident, on Saturday 2 May 2015, highlights one of the many risks car forecourts can face – alongside the positive impact remote monitoring can make.
The incident
At 20:37 an alarm was received at a premium car manufacturers forecourt in Manchester. The Farsight operator quickly checked the alarm footage and monitored the site live. The operator immediately identified four males accessing a car on the forecourt and immediately took action.
The operator issued an audio announcement to the site, warning the four males that they were being monitored via live CCTV. At this point it looked like the intruders had heeded the warning as they quickly left the forecourt.
However, after sunset they returned.
At 21:48 Farsight received another alarm from the site and began to monitor the CCTV footage live. The operator saw that the intruders were targeting the same cars again – so immediately called the police to alert them to the ongoing incident.
Now this is where the incident took an interesting turn – the operator noticed that the intruders seemed to be controlling certain features on the cars, with the lights going on and off. It looked like they were controlling the cars with the use of their phones.
The result
As the incident had been visually verified via CCTV and the Farsight operator, the police were quick to respond.
A team of officers, including dogs, arrived at the site and all four males were arrested.
To this day, however, it remains unclear what technology the intruders were using to control the cars.
This incident flags up that advances in technology could potentially threaten all types of sites – in this case, forecourts with expensive cars. But how can sites protect themselves against unknown threats – just like in this case?
There are two bits of security advice to keep in mind:
1. Don’t forget the basics
Don’t neglect the basics of security, even though the criminals are becoming more advanced with new technology. The benefits of effective perimeter security can be huge and having a rigorous lock-up routine at the end of the day can make sure no silly mistakes are made.
However, one of the most important factors is making sure all security systems and measures are working in unison with each other. It’s all well and good having the basics in place but if they don’t work well together then your site won’t benefit.
2. Invest in security
Make security an investment now and you will see the benefits as it stands up against intruders alongside new and unknown threats.
By investing in a remote monitoring provider that invests expertise into continually updating systems and protocol you will have the best chance of being protected against unknown threats.
For example, here at Farsight we continually monitor whether we have lost connection with a camera. As a result, if an intruder did work out how to disable a camera we would know about it. We also invest in keeping our technology at the cutting-edge of remote monitoring, so we know we’re providing the best security possible.
If you would like to find out more about improving your security get in touch with us today.
