options – Centralized Vision

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.

Centralized Vision to Provide Video Camera Monitoring at Liberty Automotive Group’s 5 Arizona Auto Dealerships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2012

CENTRALIZED VISION TO PROVIDE VIDEO CAMERA MONITORING

AT LIBERTY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP’S 5 ARIZONA AUTO DEALERSHIPS

Phoenix Video Surveillance Company Adds to List of Auto Dealership It Monitors

(PHOENIX) — Centralized Vision announced today they have signed a contract with Liberty Automotive Group to provide pro-active protection of property and assets by using remote-camera monitoring with real-time response options at the automotive group’s five dealerships throughout Arizona.

Centralized Vision is now actively engaged in video camera monitoring at Liberty Buick, Liberty GMC, Peoria Kia and Goodwrench Autobody in Peoria, Ariz. and Liberty Kia in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Overall, Centralized Vision currently provides camera monitoring at 14 Phoenix-area car dealerships, including properties associated with Earnhardt Auto Centers and Van Tuyl Group and independently-owned Arrowhead Honda in Peoria and San Tan Volkswagen in Gilbert, Ariz.

“Centralized Vision treated us like we were old friends, never tried to sell us more than we needed and made us feel like their No. 1 goal was simply to provide the best protection available,” said Autumn Henderson, General Manager of Liberty Buick-GMC. “We are now paying less, have more protection and are satisfied customers.”

Centralized Vision takes pride in its customer service and being able to tailor pricing to fit within a client’s budget.

“We were able to tailor our monthly pricing to fit within Liberty Automotive Group’s budget while also providing them an opportunity to constantly monitor their dealerships in Arizona,” said Centralized Vision Founder and President Tom Vigilante, Jr. “After sitting down with their leadership team and understanding their needs, we enhanced their video surveillance at each dealership by offering them cutting-edge camera technology that works well with capturing motion and in low-light environments.”

With local news organizations reporting last month an overall surge in violent crime in Maricopa County in 2011, Centralized Vision has seen a spike in growth because of the opportunities it provides to monitor closed-circuit cameras in real time, act as a crime deterrent because of posted signs surrounding its clients’ properties and the ability with one-way audio speakers to warn would-be criminals they are being watched. Video technicians monitoring properties from a centralized Phoenix-based location 24 hours a day have been successful in capturing and arresting trespassers, graffiti taggers and thieves as well as reporting other crimes or threats. Centralized Vision currently monitors nearly 90 clients within the Phoenix metro area and also has operations in Denver and Las Vegas.

Centralized Vision, backed by decades of experience in security services, provides real-time visual monitoring of various businesses, such as auto dealerships, retail centers, recycling facilities, office buildings and warehouse distribution centers. By using the latest in security technology that interfaces with all brands of video equipment and proprietary reporting software, Centralized Vision provides affordable pricing options that fit into any company’s budget.

— CENTRALIZEDVISION.COM —

Video Monitoring Satisfies State Medical Marijuana Security Plans While Doubling as Crime Deterrent

By Tom Vigilante, Jr.

My wife, Tami, and I have had the “Just Say No to Drugs” talk with our children already. I remember vividly how my parents outlined for me the dangers of getting involved with drugs and how falling down that path would more than likely prohibit me from achieving my lifelong dreams. As a parent, all I can hope for is that the education my wife and I provided our children for staying away from using drugs continues to resonate with them as they make their own choices in life.

So how do I explain why their parent’s real-time video monitoring services company is in business with medical marijuana dispensaries that are soon to be opening up for throughout Arizona and those that are already serving customers in nearby states, such as California, Colorado and New Mexico?

It’s easy.

Because CCTV and video surveillance at a medical marijuana dispensary acts as a crime deterrent and is mostly mandated by local law enforcement agencies in cities or territories handing out applications for these businesses to operate.

Let’s face it; medical marijuana dispensaries are legal now in 17 states and Washington, D.C. In addition to Arizona, the other states to have legalized medical marijuana sales are Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

According to a recent Arizona Republic article, the Tempe, Arizona Police Department uses a nine-page security plan to monitor dispensaries in their city. The plan includes mandatory requirements such as:
• Lighting requirements for the building’s exterior and parking lots.
• Closed circuit television system to monitor access the entrance and exits of the building, points of sale, grow areas and the parking lot.
• Sufficient lighting and illumination for exterior video cameras, which must have resolution of 704 x 480 or better.
• Digitally recorded video must be saved for a minimum of 31 days.

In a recent segment that ran on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” correspondent Steve Croft discussed the mandated video security in medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado. No state has gone to the lengths to manage medical marijuana that Colorado has. Every licensed dispensary must grow at least 70 percent of its own product indoors, so harvesting and sales can be closely monitored.

Matt Cook, a former narcotics officer who helped write the law and served as Colorado’s first director of enforcement, discussed his state’s medical marijuana laws to Croft during the “60 Minutes” piece.

“If you note, video security cameras systems,” Cook said to Croft in the “60 Minutes” segment as they tour a dispensary. “We created a very transparent regulatory scheme and wanted to ensure what they said they were doing, they were actually doing. We track everything from seed to sale and they have to account for 100 percent of it.”

At Centralized Vision, we offer an innovative security platform that provides pro-active protection of property and assets by using a remote-camera monitoring system with real-time response options that could be used by medical marijuana dispensaries to satisfy their state-mandated security plans. Dispensaries can be viewed 24 hours a day by our technicians that visually monitor our clients’ property in real time and can dispatch security or law enforcement officers if a crime occurs. By using the latest in security technology from a centralized location, Centralized Vision provides affordable pricing options that fit into the budget for any dispensary in any state.

We are already past the point of whether medical marijuana dispensaries should be allowed in Arizona and other states. I am more worried about how we can offer a solution to prevent crimes in communities where the dispensaries are located. The video monitoring services we offer at Centralized Vision are a good start to serve as a crime deterrent.

Police Say Dumpster Diving Can Lead to Theft & Property Damage

By Tami Vigilante

I routinely receive various crime prevention tips from local police departments because of the great relationships Centralized Vision has established with local law enforcement agencies. A recent email I received from the Peoria Police Department is worth passing along because it warns businesses about the circumstances if people are going through trash dumpsters on their property.

Peoria Police warn businesses that they could be held liable if information in their trash is left unprotected. While people may be “dumpster diving” for treasures, they can also collect customers’ personal identity information, business information or precious metals that can be resold on the black market. The Peoria Police Department highlighted Sec. 22-9 of their criminal code that addresses “disturbing contents of containers”:

(a) Any person not authorized by the City to utilize for other than its intended purpose the lid from any solid waste or recycling container.
(b) Any person not authorized by the responsible party to remove, collect or disturb the solid waste and recyclables stored in such containers or to remove from a solid waste or recycling container any solid waste or recyclables
(i) set out for recycling or collection and disposable by the City, licenses solid waste contractors, their agents or assigns or
(ii) deposited at a City recycling drop-off center. This prohibition does not apply to law enforcement officers acting within the scope of their official duties.
(c) Any person to scatter solid waste or recyclables upon any private or public property.

Centralized Vision offers an innovative security platform that provides pro-active protection of property and assets for companies by using remote-camera monitoring with real-time response options that act as a crime deterrent. Our technicians visually monitor our clients’ property in real time and can dispatch security or law enforcement officers to prevent dumpster divers from collecting a company’s private information.

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.

Music Awakening Seniors Suffering From Cognitive Disorders

By Tami Vigilante

A growing part of our business at Centralized Vision is real-time GPS monitoring and tracking. We can easily keep track of low-level criminals or locate a fleet of transportation vehicles by having our team of 24-hour support technicians monitor GPS tracking devices anywhere around the world.

But a significant portion of our GPS monitoring business has nothing to do with criminal activity.

Many of our GPS monitoring clients are assisted-living facilities that house seniors afflicted with cognitive disorders, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Because people may suffer memory loss or be disoriented, having those that suffer from either of the disorders wear a GPS bracelet allows our company to locate them if they wander away from the facility.

Currently, there are more than a million people with dementia or Alzheimer’s living in assisted-living facilities throughout the country. Centralized Vision adds another level of security and safety to protect loved ones living in such facilities. But there are other organizations that offer various therapeutic options to improve the quality of life for people spending the remainder of their lives in these facilities.

One of those organizations improving the quality of life of seniors afflicted with dementia and Alzheimer’s is Music & Memory. Started by social worker Daniel Cohen six years ago, Music & Memory’s mission is to improve the quality of life for the elderly suffering from cognitive disorders through the use of personalized music and digital technology.

I learned about Music & Memory when the organization was featured on an episode of “The Doctors” recently. On the show, they told the story of an older gentleman named Henry living in an assisted-living facility and being unresponsive to most things because of dementia. He didn’t recognize family members and sat in a daze most of the time. However, when he was given an iPod with his favorite songs to listen to, Henry came alive. It broke my heart to hear him talk about his favorite singer Cab Calloway and to hear him sing a few lines from Bing Crosby’s 1943 classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

The therapy Music & Memory provides helps seniors suffering from cognitive disorders remember who they are and helps reacquire their identity after listening to their favorite music on an iPod. You can help the non-profit organization allow seniors to relive their younger years by donating a used iPod or giving as little as $49 to assist them in purchasing new iPod Shuffles. Log on to www.musicandmemory.org to learn more about how to donate used iPods or purchase new ones and to watch the video segment from the recent episode of “The Doctors.”

Keeping seniors living in assisted-living facilities safe and secure is important. But making sure those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s have an improved quality of life is something we all can contribute to.