6 April 2023 - Scott Wilson
Featured in: OPTEX in the news, Intrusion detection
How smart does your security need to be?
Ever-increasing rates of violent crime in South Africa, coupled with the explosion of new smart security technologies leave many people and businesses questioning how to upgrade their systems. Intelligent visual monitoring software, video analytics with artificial intelligence (AI), thermal cameras, biometric scanning and the Internet of Things (IoT) are transforming the level to which we can protect life, limb and property. But how much of this new technology do we really need to build a truly smart security system to keep people, property and possessions safe?
Violent crime
South Africa is, unfortunately, one of the most violent countries in the world. There were over 200 000 home robberies in 2021/22, many of which ended in assault or even murder. In its latest crime statistics, the South African police said almost 40 000 violent robberies took place in the third quarter of 2022 alone, including hijacking and home and bank robberies. Given the high incidence of violent crime, alarm visual verification and being able to monitor security systems and react in real-time has become increasingly important.
An alarming realisation
When choosing to upgrade security, the old technology can seem redundant, but replacing all that hardware with an expensive state-of-the-art security system can also be hard to justify. That is where OPTEX’s CHeKT can help, by effective ‘joining up’, different systems to turn legacy hardware into smart IoT devices. Users or monitoring services can see exactly what is going on in real-time and deter intruders with lights or warn would-be intruders off site through audio systems. It can deter all would be thieves, while waiting for your security response team.