Video surveillance systems need to be viewed by purchasers of these systems so that everything does not start and end with using them just to help deter and/or look for shoplifters.
In this example, a person enters a store to purchase household goods and, while walking through the store, claims she fell because something was spilled on the floor. Resultantly, 911 is called and the woman is taken from inside the store to the hospital for treatment.
Subsequently, a lawsuit is filed against the business claiming that it acted negligently and that but for tripping and falling, her injuries would not have occurred.
When you sell video surveillance systems, do you educate the prospective subscriber on the value of video surveillance systems as an evidence-gathering tool? In other words, beyond the myriad security benefits is its other intrinsic value: being able to provide mission-critical details of the event, which would not exist but for having a video surveillance system.
Video Surveillance for Loss Prevention
Historically, from the concept being developed in 1927 to World War II, the closed-circuit television consumer VCR era in the ’70s, the digital revolution in the ’90s and today’s artificial intelligence cloud-connected systems have reliably provided the professional and forensic community of the security industry and law enforcement with the most reliable and powerful evidence-gathering and loss-prevention tools available as it relates to civil and criminal cases and claims.
Simplified, video surveillance system recordings can and have reliably provided the framework of the who, what, when, where and how of an incident. By way of explanation, but not limitation, who are the people involved, what is the nature of the incident, what caused the incident, when did it happen and how did it unfold?
Against the foregoing backdrop, video surveillance system recordings are mission-critical as an evidence gathering tool for the deterrence of crime, identification of criminal conduct, proof of who committed a crime, what happened and/or did not happen and for a profusion of other asset protection measures including but not limited to claims being made against a company and/or premises liability claim based upon something that the person(s) claims to have happened to them and/or did, in fact, occur.
The evidence of criminal activity, terrorist acts, premises liability claims, assaults and slip-and-fall incidents has been captured by all types of video surveillance systems. Invariably, it is mission-critical that all pertinent video surveillance recordings of the incident be preserved, as the “eyes” of these systems do not distort or forget what they record.
Video surveillance recordings validate, dispute and/or provide investigators and/or other interested parties with pivotal information regarding the circumstances surrounding the subject matter incident. This evidence can tell investigators what caused the incident and/or how the incident happened and/or did not happen.
Did the incident occur as alleged and/or were there some other factors that the person(s) investigating the claim need to know about in order to evaluate the circumstances?
The Impact of Video Surveillance on Many Industries
Video surveillance camera recordings have had a remarkable and profound impact on both civil and criminal investigations across the country and around the world by identifying perpetrators and/or other persons who acted suspiciously and/or who are identified before and/or during the commission of a crime.
In harvesting this information, it can be presented to insurance claims adjusters, legal counsel, judges and juries, in conjunction with the other claims and arguments being provided to companies, investigators and/or other fact finders.
Likewise, these systems can be used for purposes of (1) future planning, (2) liability and insurance, (3) evaluation by management and security personnel, (4) video coverage of critical areas and operations during an emergency, since video surveillance systems are also an excellent tool in loss prevention and can reduce financial losses significantly.
Video recordings of assets lost or stolen or persons that are injured or killed can support a claim that there was negligence, it was not negligent and/or that the event should have initiated the premises’ emergency and/or disaster plan, whereby the incident that gives rise to the litigation could cause adverse liability against the company or not.
