CV’s virtual greeter service featured in HOA Advisors magazine

HOA-Advisors_winter2014-PhoenixThe upcoming winter issue of HOA Advisors magazine features an article about how the virtual greeter service provided by Centralized Vision can provide as-good or better security than on-site security personnel at a fraction of the cost.

Technology to the Rescue: Virtual Greeter 75% Less Expensive than On-site Security Officers

Keeping one’s community safe is of primary importance to any HOA. But the cost of hiring on-site security officers can eat up a huge chunk of association resources. Thankfully, new advancements in security systems technology can reduce costs significantly, without sacrificing quality of security.

Here’s a look at what you expect from a good security solution, and the way they are handled by a virtual vs. on-site security service:

  1. Control access – Automated gates can be circumvented by people who tailgate residents as they enter. But if the security officer is sitting at the gate all the time then they can’t be roaming the community on alert for other issues. Centralized monitoring allows the virtual security officer to be everywhere at once – greeting residents vocally at the gate one moment and keeping an eye on a landscaper across the community in the next moment. License plate recording keeps track of who goes in and out.
  1. Recognize residents vs. strangers – A security officer may or may not get out of their car to meet and get to know residents. Facial recognition software and resident database management makes it possible for virtual security technicians to know who’s who and act accordingly.
  1. Monitor visitors such as vendors and landscapers – An on-site security officer can only be in one place at a time, whereas a virtual security technician has access to all community common areas at once.
  1. Detect suspicious activity and intervene – If the on-site officer happens by when suspicious or criminal activity occurs, he can intervene. With real-time remote camera monitoring, suspicious persons are easier to spot and law enforcement authorities can be notified immediately to intervene and pursue suspects.
  1. Keep an eye on your community at all times – Virtual safety-certified technicians are on-call 24/7/365, at one-quarter of the cost of the same availability by an on-site security officer.

With access to cameras, audio speakers, and the residential database live in real-time, virtual security technicians can be proactive, rather than reactive, and provide a level of service that would normally necessitate hiring a full-time on-site security officer.

If your association doesn’t have a budget to support an on-site security officer, or if you have one but would like to use a lot of that money for other projects, a real-time camera monitoring system may be the cost-effective solution you need.

Scottsdale Police Arrest Metal Thieves After Video Surveillance Capture at Vacant Auto Dealership

By Tom Vigilante, Jr.

A large portion of our client base at Centralized Vision that we provide video surveillance monitoring for are auto dealerships throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area. Overall, we provide remote-camera monitoring with real-time response options at 14 car dealerships in Arizona.

The dealerships have a variety of reasons (theft, trespassing, vandalism) of why they would need a company like ours to routinely monitor closed-circuit video cameras on their properties at various times throughout the day. However, a technician at our centralized tech center noticed suspicious activity after seeing two trespassers on camera recently at the vacant Infiniti of Scottsdale dealership we monitor in Scottsdale.

As you can see while watching the video, the cameras we monitor caught two suspects climbing over a locked gate on the property. After numerous cameras on the property provided detailed video images of the two suspects collecting copper pipes and other metals, our technician contacted the Scottsdale Police Department’s dispatch operator to alert local authorities of the criminal activity.

Within five minutes, one Scottsdale police officer was at the property, and another unit arrived at the auto dealership shortly after. Later in the video, the police officers can be seen arresting the suspects and also locating a bag of metal objects the criminals stashed on the property. The Scottsdale police officers were in contact with our technician to verify they were apprehending the correct people.

Although we usually see people trying to steal copper and other metals from recycling facilities we monitor, this video capture is proof that any crime can be committed on the property of various types of businesses.

Tom Vigilante, Jr. is President & Founder of Centralized Vision, which has offices in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Denver. For more information on real-time video verification services or GPS monitoring, go to centralizedvision.com or call 855-888-8094.

Real-Time Video Monitoring Could Deter Car Thefts at Phoenix Shopping Malls

By Tom Vigilante, Jr.

With Black Friday and the holiday shopping season fast approaching, Phoenix’s ABC television affiliate recently aired a segment on their evening news about the number of car thefts at Valley shopping malls.

According to research done among car thefts at Phoenix-area malls from September 2011 to August 2012, ABC 15 (KNXV-TV, Ch. 15) reported that Metrocenter in Phoenix had the most occurrences with 84 cars stolen on its property during the 12-month time frame. Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale ranked second with 56 thefts, Arizona Mills in Tempe was third with 33 and Desert Sky Mall in Phoenix was fourth with 31. Car thefts for other malls included Tempe Marketplace (12), Scottsdale Fashion Square (5), Mesa’s Fiesta Mall (5), Mesa’s Superstition Springs Center (3) and Chandler Fashion Center (2).

The National Insurance Crime Bureau reports that New Year’s Day is the leading holiday for reported vehicle thefts, while Christmas Day repeats annually as the holiday with the fewest reported cars stolen. The NICB reminds drivers to be alert during the busy holiday season by parking in well-lit areas at shopping centers, keeping packages in the trunk or out of sight and making sure vehicles are locked while parked.

Although Phoenix led the nation in auto thefts in 2002, NCIB data now ranks the Valley 60th among 366 metro areas in car thefts. According to the Arizona Republic, the decrease in car thefts can be attributed to the creation by the Arizona State Legislature of the Arizona Automobile Theft Authority, which trains police officers, provides funding for prosecutors dealing in auto-theft cases and issues bait cars to lure thieves.

While the decrease in auto thefts in the Phoenix metropolitan area has decreased significantly, there is still work to be done to prevent additional displeasure for car owners in the future.

Centralized Vision provides pro-active protection of properties and assets by using remote-camera monitoring with real-time response actions for companies, including strip malls and shopping centers. We have a technician at our corporate headquarters monitor closed-circuit video cameras throughout parking lots and closed-off areas of various shopping centers 24 hours a day to prevent car thefts, trespassing and personal attacks.

When our technician views a crime being committed on camera, he or she can immediately alert local law enforcement to dispatch police officers to the property, and even provide them with a photo or video in real time to track down the suspect. Some of our client’s CCTV cameras are equipped with voice response features, allowing Centralized Vision technicians to warn a suspect they are being watched on video and deter a crime from being committed.

Although Christmas shoppers can take precautions to prevent their automobile from being stolen at Phoenix shopping centers, it is always a good idea for malls to invest in additional resources to make their customers feel safe during the holiday season.

Tom Vigilante, Jr. is President & Founder of Centralized Vision, which has offices in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Denver. For more information on real-time video verification services or GPS monitoring, go to centralizedvision.com or call 855-888-8094.

Video Can Help Tempe Police Nab Beating Suspect


By Tami Vigilante

A male suspect who thought he got away with a crime after beating a defenseless 20-year-old male Arizona State University student in the elevator of a popular residential building in downtown Tempe now must try to evade local law enforcement agencies.

Because West 6th Tempe has video surveillance cameras monitor various areas of their high-rise residential building located just west of Mill Ave. near ASU, Tempe Police now have video footage that clearly identifies a 6-foot white male with short brown hair in his early 20s relentlessly attacking the male victim in an elevator on the property around 2 a.m. on Oct. 6. The victim was knocked unconscious and had an earring ripped out of his ear by the suspect. Tempe Police are seeking the suspect on aggravated assault charges because there is such severe damage to the victim’s face after sustaining numerous facial fractures. Tempe Police have released video footage of the crime to local media agencies to assist them in asking people to help them identify the suspect through their Silent Witness program.

If there had not been any video footage, the Tempe Police Department would have had a hard time trying to solve this crime because it happened early in the morning when nobody else seemed to be around the building to offer information as a witness. That is why Centralized Vision has been so beneficial to our customers by providing real-time video verification services to our clients. We have various properties who use our services to monitor their cameras within the elevators in their parking structures. Not only can we act as a deterrent by catching thieves in the middle of a crime, but we can also capture footage of a serious crime and work with law enforcement authorities to track down the suspects.

Hopefully, you will agree with me that we can make our community safer as more businesses and property management companies use video monitoring to prevent crimes like this from happening in the future.

Tami Vigilante is Executive Vice President & Co-Founder at Centralized Vision. For more information on real-time video verification services or GPS monitoring, go to centralizedvision.com or call 855-888-8094.

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