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You've probably seen videos of convenience store or bank robberies on the nightly news. Usually, the images are so bad not even the criminal's own mother would recognize him. For most small business owners, it probably makes more sense to use CCTV as a deterrent. But if you're sure you want to use your CCTV system to help catch and prosecute criminals, what can you do?
- Make sure the system and the cameras are good enough to get clear images of people's faces, in any sort of light and weather.
- Make sure offenders don't wear masks, scarves, or pantyhose on their heads when they rob you.
- Make sure you use a brand-new video tape almost every day.
- Make sure to hire enough people to either watch the monitors or review the tapes daily.
- Make sure to hire security people who can instantly respond to images on the monitors.
- Make sure to keep the system and its controls locked away from your employee. (In one true case, a convenience store in Halifax, Canada, was robbed at about 2 a.m. by a man with a knife. The police soon arrived and asked to take the tape for evidence, but the system wasn't working. It turns out the 4 p.m. - midnight employee had turned the video recorder off to "save energy." The police were very suspicious. Lucky for the employee, the robber was soon caught because he fled the scene in the middle of a snowstorm. The police followed his footprints and found him holed up with the knife and the loot.)
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