03

May
2012

Cool Ways to Catch Crooks

May 3rd, 2012 | by admin admin | in Security Advice |    0   

First, the good news: Residential break and enters in Vancouver so far this year are down 21 per cent compared to the same time last year.

Then the bad news: That’s still 746 B & Es too many, 27 per cent of them without forced entry.

Commercial B & Es, meanwhile, went up 15 per cent over the same period, for a total of 610. The Vancouver Police are asking for your help to identify this suspect who robbed a pharmacy on Kingsway in March. The VPD are also warning business owners about a rash of B & Es in Little Italy, mostly between midnight and 7 a.m. Thieves are smashing restaurant windows with rocks, targeting liquor and cash.

On the bright side, Hope RCMP used Craigslist to recover two sets of tires stolen from a car dealership.

You can take steps to protect your home and business:

• Don’t leave doors or windows open, even on the second floor
• Don’t leave laptops, cash or other valuables in plain view.
• Leave your register’s cash tray open and empty. Or post a sign, “no cash on premises.”

Finally, invest in a security system. With the wide range of devices available, you can find a security solution that fits your home or business.

Intrusion detectors. From window and door contacts to glass break detectors to motion sensors, intrusion detectors trip your alarm system. Depending on your system, this could result in an audible alarm, e-mail or text notification, a video clip, video tracking or your security monitoring agency interrogating intruders and notifying police.

Video surveillance. Rapidly evolving technology allows you to monitor your home or business in fascinating new ways. You can check on your pets and turn on your lights over the Internet, from across town or around the world. If an intruder breaks into your business or parkade, security cameras can generate an instant video clip and e-mail it to you, or your security monitoring agency.

Intelligent video security cameras can continuously monitor secured areas such as car dealership parking lots or construction sites for specific patterns of movement. These newer video surveillance cameras can distinguish between animals, people and vehicles in all weather and lighting conditions. Your monitoring agency can track intruders with live video feeds and interrogate them using interactive audio.

Monitoring. Any security system, even the most advanced, works best if it is monitored. The ideal response is an immediate one. Radius Security operates a central monitoring station located right in the Lower Mainland. Security professionals can conduct scheduled virtual patrols of your property, as well as respond immediately to an alarm.

More information on

• Video surveillance
• Intrusion detection
• Radius Security's central monitoring station

Public warning: Local police forces have noted a spike in scams targeting seniors, including a lottery scam. Plus, a con artist with a history of defrauding seniors has been released from custody.