Essential Accessories for Ultimate Surveillance

Two of my favorite things are Pinterest and traveling and it is even more fun to combine them by Pinteresting (yes, that is now a verb) things about travel. You can learn hidden gems and experiences about wherever you’re visiting as well as some useful pointers for what to bring. Every list you read will mention distinct things to do, new options for restaurants, and even entirely different wardrobes for your location. The real kicker is that each will claim to be the “Best Things to Do at Here” or the “Ultimate Tips for Visiting Wherever.” None of them claim to be what they are—opinions. So how do you sift through all of these opinions to truly make the ultimate travel list full of the must-dos and must-haves?

The fact of the matter is—you have to make the best decision for yourself based on your circumstances. Maybe you want to visit the pirate museum, not the Mozart one because you have a 5-year-old who loves pirates. Maybe you don’t want to walk as much as the botanical gardens require so you decide to see a show instead.

So, while every list or blog on a destination may claim to have the best of the best, it really comes down to you and your decision. The same is true with this ultimate blog about security accessories. Naturally, we have our list of what we believe makes the best, ultimate security that we compiled from more than 15 years of working in security. There are things that we believe to be absolutely essential. We’ve seen it all—the break-ins, smash and grabs, vandals, and more. However, when it comes down to it, you have to decide what is best for your business and location.

It all starts with deterrence

The best security camera features are those that add deterrence to your surveillance system. Traditional thinking hides security as if to be sneaky. But why? Overt security can still capture recordings even if people can see it. In fact, overt cameras may even capture better video than if they are hidden in the corners.

Security measures that are visible do everything that covert measures do with one huge plus—they also scare off potential wrong doers before they can commit any crime. In fact, just the presence of our units has proven to decrease crime. That’s why all of the surveillance camera accessories we suggest add deterrence to your security.

Lights

One of the easiest essentials to add to your security is lights. Proper lighting ensures that criminals don’t have a place to hide. It also helps you keep a better eye on your business. This is security 101. At LVT, we add floodlights and strobe lights to our units. The floodlights are great for fully illuminating an area, and the strobe lights draw attention to the unit.

Alarms

In high school, I worked as a janitor for a small doctor’s office. The building had multiple alarm systems built in—one for the common areas and one for each individual suite. The last person out of the building was responsible for setting the common area alarm each night. However, most people just assumed they were the last in the building and forgot to check for any janitors. Because of this, I had the main building alarm set on me multiple times. I would leave the suite I was responsible for cleaning, excited to go home when a piercing, soul-shaking alarm blared throughout the building. If you have never set off an alarm, you won’t appreciate how terrifying it is. Just combine the most jump-inducing panic from the best horror movie with the loudest, most ear-piercing siren and you will start to understand what it is like. I’m pretty sure I screamed, panicked, and probably swore before shutting off the alarm and calling the owner so the police would not be alerted.

Speaking from first-hand experience, alarms work. They add multiple deterrents to your security even if they are never set off. There is a reason people put stickers and signs outside of their building advertising their alarm systems. Just by having an alarm system, criminals are less likely to break into your property because there is a higher chance they will be caught. However, if they proceed and set the alarm off, a gut wrenching, pants-scaring-off sound meets them, and they know the authorities are just minutes away.

At LVT, we use bounding boxes and a two-way speaker to help create alarms in your parking lot before trespassers get anywhere close to your assets. Bounding boxes are like an invisible fence. They create a perimeter for our cameras to watch, and you can customize the unit’s response when that perimeter is breached. You can have a prerecorded message play, warning the intruders off or you can even log in and speak directly to them thanks to our live alerts.

Thermal cameras

The first thermographic camera in America was invented more than 70 years ago by the U.S. military. However, they weren’t used in private security until relatively recent years. Thermal cameras have the advantage that they don’t need light to detect intrusions. Even with proper lighting, it is hard to see things at night with optical cameras. Thermal cameras don’t have the same limitations and can help prevent false alarms, see through camouflage and barriers, and increase the range of your security system.

Cameras

A family friend, John, was graduating dental school long before everyone had cameras in their pockets. His parents flew out for his graduation and rented what was then a cutting-edge video camera to record the ceremony. John was one of the top graduates in his class and proudly walked across the stage. All of it was forever immortalized on film thanks to the massive camera John’s dad was running. Or so they thought. Only after the ceremony was complete did John’s parents realize that they had the on and off switch confused so the camera was actually off during the graduation and on when they were walking in and out.

John’s parents had the fanciest camera they could get at the time, but it didn’t matter. They had a great recording of the inside of the bag, the ground, and under the chair but none of John walking. Just as John’s parents found out, it doesn’t matter if you have the fanciest security system if the cameras don’t function when they need to.

The cameras are the stars of a surveillance system and central to the rest of the accessories and functions. That’s why it is important to use quality cameras and ensure that they have power, are pointed in the right direction, and are functioning properly.

At LVT, we use high quality cameras and make sure they are on and working. We handle the maintenance for you. When things break, and they will, we are quick to respond. Too many times, companies have a security system, but it is down when thieves strike. We work hard to make sure this never happens with our systems.

Other features

Thanks to smart technology and analytics, new security features are constantly being developed. Things like gunshot detection, license plate recognition, drone detection radar, and more. Our research and development team works hard to keep LVT on the cutting-edge of surveillance camera parts and accessories.

The essential accessories for the ultimate security system will continue to develop. New technology is constantly released and the old is always being updated. However, our list of essential accessories is, and always will be, based on deterrence. We want criminals to take one look at a LVT Unit and instantly know that the property is protected, that if they proceed, they will be caught.

Learn more about LVT and the services we provide here.