Video Verification Provides Enhanced Safety and Quicker Emergency Response Time
Watching your home’s security video feed through an app on your phone or computer has become the new standard. Known in the industry as self-surveillance, the rise in this kind of home monitoring is due to the decreasing costs of surveillance cameras and the increased capabilities of smartphone technology. These advances have also led to the latest trend in home security, video verification (VV). According to the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), “Video verification is the use of captured video or real-time video in which the video information or recording is aligned with the action that initiated an alarm event to assist in determining the protocol to be followed for the alarm event.” In the past, video verification technology was too expensive for most homeowners and too difficult to install. But, that is no longer the case. Today video verification is quickly becoming a mainstream alarm system feature.
Video Verification benefits homeowners
With video verification, when a surveillance camera notices activity, the monitoring alarm center receives notice right away. A trained alarm center operator reviews the video footage, verifies what is transpiring, and reports it to the police right away. If the trained operator is watching a burglary in progress via video, it will be issued a higher priority. A burglary in progress is treated as a “priority 1,” by law enforcement. An alarm triggered without video verification is usually considered a “priority 3,” a much less important priority. The change in priority level from 3 to 1 means a much faster police response time. In the case of a tripped alarm, seeing is believing.
Video Verification benefits law enforcement
Video verification technology is proving to be a win-win for both homeowners and law enforcement. For homeowners, video verification provides a quicker response time by police. As law enforcement continues to be faced with increasing job demands and smaller budgets, video verification helps minimize wasted time and money with false alarms. For officers, knowing more about the situation before they enter a home can also increase an officer’s situational awareness and safety. It also helps law enforcement better enhance the safety of neighborhoods since robbers are deterred by video.
Chief Steve Dye of Grand Prairie, TX, shared,“From our perspective, we see no difference between an eyewitness calling to report a crime and a central station operator calling to report a crime they have seen on video. In fact, the fact that a video exists of the actual event could mean the central station call could even be considered stronger.” And, he means what he says. Currently, the response time for a video verified alarm in Grand Prairie, TX is less than two minutes.
Video Verification offered by Fortress
Fortress Security offers the affordable I-View Now technology video verification. This cloud-based central station video interface works with most current alarm systems. The service is web-based and does not require software or a dedicated application.
Ready to upgrade to system with video verification? Contact Fortress today to learn more.
According to a survey of working parents, one in five children ages 6 to 12 is regularly left without adult supervision after school. For many families, this is the best solution. Of course, children must have some basic skills, a level of maturity, and their parent’s trust to be left at home alone. Smart home technology is helping to put working parents’ most common worries to rest and making it safer for kids to stay at home alone.
How does Smart Home technology help working parents?
Smart Locks
Welcome to the life of the modern latchkey kids. Thanks to smart home technology, latchkey kids no longer have to carry a key around their neck. Gone are the fears of your child losing their key on the playground and being locked out of the house until you come home after work. Smart locks have the ability to be controlled by the parent from afar. If you know your child always walks in at 3:15 you can set the door to unlock then. Or if they are going to be late with an after-school activity you can unlock it from your smartphone at the new designated time. Children can also have their own “digital” key, which means they input a code into the lock to get into the house. A great safety feature of this technology is you can lock the door directly from an app on your iPhone or Android smartphone. No more sitting in a meeting worrying if your child locked the door after they came home.
Remote control access and video feeds keep kids safe
Another great safety feature is you can monitor who comes in and out 24/7 with an activity log on your smartphone.
Once a child is safely at home, you can arm or disarm the alarm system from your phone or computer. Managing the home environment is easy too. With a smart home you can set specific lights to come on at 3:15 and for the air or heat to kick in a few minutes before your child comes home, making the house comfortable for them.
Now that your child is safe inside, you can also monitor what he/she does with internal IP video feeds. With a click on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, you can see what is going on in different areas of the house. Is homework being done or are video games being played? Are healthy snacks being chosen or junk food? You can easily check-in and see. Children appreciate rules and routine so this kind of parental involvement, even while you are at work can add needed structure to their day.
Remote notifications of fire or carbon monoxide leaks and more
A smart house is equipped with the alarm system also to monitor for fire or carbon monoxide. If either were detected an alert would be sent to your phone as well as the call center.
Another great safety feature that is easy to incorporate into a smart home is a video doorbell like the Skybell video doorbell. The doorbell rings at 4 o’clock. Both you and your child on separate devices can check and see who is there. Is it your son’s best friend asking him to come over and play? An important package that needs signing? Or a dreaded door-to-door salesman? With a video doorbell, you decide if you want your kid to get the door. Even better, you can “answer” the door from afar. Using your smartphone, you can speak through the Skybell video doorbell and tell the salesman you are not interested. They will never know your child is in there alone since an adult just “answered” the doorbell.
Smart homes are making after school safer for kids today. Call us or fill out this form to get in touch with us about Honeywell smart home technology from Fortress Security, a leader in Texas home security, professional monitoring, and smart technology.
