Factors of Security

You might think that security was a fairly straight forward and simple concept – you want to keep people out, so you set up CCTV surveillance systems, locks and alarms. Many people might even fail to recognise all of those elements and instead see security as something just requiring a set of good locks on the building.

However despite this initial misconception, security is actually a very complex and multifaceted concern and it is difficult for security specialists to juggle all of the various aspects involved let alone managers and property owners.

For instance when we look at something as simple as locks, often these are surprisingly more confusing. For instance if you have a lock for your business then you will need to keep trespassers out, but also to let your staff in. This then means that you need to hand out a lot of keys and keep track at all times of who has and who hasn't got a key to your building. More complex you might have to give people access to some rooms and not others, and this requires a more complex form of lock system such as a digital lock, or multiple locks and keys. Likewise if you're the owner of rented apartments, then it will be your job to ensure that all of the people in the apartment can get into the main building and their own flats, but not each other. This can be achieved again with a digital lock or with a master key, but is again an indication of some of the complications surrounding security.

With a CCTV system this is again more complex than it may at first seem and there are lots of choices and decisions. For instance you need to decide whether to get an analogue or a digital security camera. Following that you then need to decide where to place them and how many to have. If you have a digital security camera this then presents a whole range of other options. For instance you can use image analysis and motion sensor technology to identify what the cameras are picking up, while with an IP Digital CCTV you can broadcast the footage wirelessly to your other devices. You might set up your system so that your security camera records only when there is human-shaped movement, and so that it sends this to your phone or home computer so that you can decide how to react.

Good security and surveillance also means protecting your building pre-emptively. That means deterring people from trying to enter and this can save you the costs even of an attempted break in. Your building doesn't have to look like Fort Knox, but if it looks more secure than the building next to it then you will greatly diminish opportunistic crimes. By installing a security camera and getting things like barbed wire, good security can achieve this.

Make sure that when you are looking into your own security that you take all these myriad factors into account and find the best CCTV system, look into means to deter people from breaking and entering, and organise the best locks. Then you can start thinking about the rest...


Security is a multifaceted subject, but a CCTV system can help in many ways. Click on the links for your own CCTV surveillance.