law enforcement – Centralized Vision

Virtual Guard Service Now Available Through Partnership with Benson Systems

By Tom Vigilante, Jr.

Centralized Vision is pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with Benson Systems to offer our Virtual Guard monitoring service for commercial property managers, management companies and other businesses.

Virtual Guard is a pro-active video managed service available through a building’s security camera system equipped with access control and a speaker and microphone system. The service allows Centralized Vision’s well-trained security technicians to monitor any company’s video camera, access control and audio speaker system remotely through a high-speed Internet connection at all hours of the day.

When an incident occurs on a site that is a participating in our Virtual Guard program, the Centralized Vision security techs are alerted. They quickly respond to the alert by using the security camera system equipped with a loud speaker to engage the suspect and move him off the property. The security techs can also contact local law enforcement authorities immediately if they deem the situation warrants attention.

Centralized Vision and Benson Systems are excited to offer this service to Class A building property managers and retail businesses because it greatly reduces ongoing security expenses while also providing a service that is more beneficial than an onsite guard or roving patrol service. Our combined services are already in place at the Stockyards Restaurant and surrounding office complexes in Phoenix and at the 60,000-square-foot Biltmore Circle office building in Central Phoenix.

Benson Systems, whose mission is to be a trusted single-source provider of vital facilities services, system integration and installation, does a great job in taking care of security system, security camera and card access needs for companies throughout Arizona. Now with Centralized Vision’s innovative security platform, both companies can provide pro-active protection of property and assets by using a remote-camera monitoring system with real-time response options.

Centralized Vision Camera Monitoring Leads to Copper Theft Arrest at Phoenix Recycling Facility

After a Centralized Vision technician noticed suspicious activity while monitoring surveillance cameras at a Phoenix recycling facility around 6 p.m. on October 27, 2012, he alerted the Phoenix Police Department about the incident. As the tech zoomed in with the security camera, he noticed the trespasser in the bottom-right corner of the screen was wearing a light-colored bandana over his face and a dark hat while he was removing copper metal from the facility.

At 6:13 p.m., Phoenix Police arrived at the facility and five officers along with a K-9 unit were allowed on the facility’s grounds to look for the suspect. As the officers and K-9 looked for the suspect on foot, camera surveillance showed a Phoenix Police helicopter shining its lights from above trying to find the suspect. At 7:14 p.m., Phoenix Police notified the Centralized Vision technician that the suspect was found and arrested.

Metal theft has become an epidemic in Arizona since the economic downturn started in 2008. Law enforcement agencies blame the trend on a combination of the unemployed seeking items to sell for cash and drug addicts looking to finance their next score. Insurance claims arising from metal thefts rose nationwide by 81 percent during the last three years compared with the number of claims filed from 2007-08, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Businesses Investing Into Security Camera Monitoring Can Save Money on Insurance Premiums

By Tami Vigilante

As small-business owners, my husband, Tom, and I are always looking at efficient ways to run our company. Whether it is eliminating unneeded expenses or shifting dollars from one area to another, we look at various ways to be efficient and grow our business at the same time.

The services we offer at Centralized Vision can save other businesses money as well.

Investing into a camera surveillance system and video monitoring from Centralized Vision could pay for itself in the form of decreased insurance premiums. Many insurance companies will discount company’s premiums from 10 to 20 percent when CCTV security cameras are in place to provide added safety on the property.

Why would insurance companies discount premiums for a company that has camera surveillance and monitoring?

• Having video cameras in plain sight throughout the property and Centralized Vision-branded signs that warn people they are being monitored is enough to act as a deterrent to warn criminals from attempting anything illegal.
• If a crime does occur, our technicians monitoring the property 24 hours a day can dispatch law enforcement officials to possibly stop the criminal act in process and provide photo or video evidence that could be used to convict the suspect in court.
• Having a video monitoring service available to provide evidence for employees filing false worker’s compensation insurance claims could be very beneficial for small-business owners.

Affordability is one our company’s core principles. Protecting a valuable asset is not an expensive investment because we use the latest in security technology from a centralized location to provide affordable pricing options that fit into any company’s budget.

Businesses with monitoring of a camera surveillance system will not only be able to protect themselves from criminal activity on their property, they will also be able to run a more efficient business due to decreased insurance costs.

Tami Vigilante is Executive Vice President & Co-Founder at 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 6^th 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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