Surveillance remains in demand

Though the index crime rate fell by 11 percent in Westchester County from 2004 to 2008, those in the business of preventing crime still see strong demand ”“ so much so that two companies teamed up to offer free security analyses until the end of the summer.

Paul Godridge, president of AllView Security Consultants recently collaborated with Beacon-based Tel-Secure Security Control Systems to form The GardTexx Group in White Plains.

“We”™ve noted that within the last six months or so that businesses, especially small and medium-size enterprises have contacted us to determine if they were adequately protected,” said Paul Godridge, president of GardTexx. “And while systems over three or four years old are usually considered limited in their capabilities, the good news is that new technology allows far greater protection at a cost that”™s typically far less than what it was just a short while back.”

In addition to businesses, the company has worked with educational institutions, residences and municipalities. Areas of concern differ by industry.

People are interested in prevention but also want to improve productivity, Godridge said.

“If people know they”™re on camera or signals can be sent to a PDA through images or a text alert, it improves productivity.”

Godridge said the company has received more requests from real estate companies because “a lot of expensive homes on the market are left alone for long periods of time and there is a concern about people breaking into the house.”

 

Monitoring construction materials and keeping “undesirables” at bay is another reason. The company is now creating a portable system for the time the property is on the market, which could aid in tracking foot traffic and responses for realty firms.

 

Improving efficiency in retail establishments is another area where security has been in demand, Godridge said, as “we”™ve had (cameras) trained on a cash register that can (allow the owner to) sit at home and monitor what is going on instead of having to go into the store everyday.”

Growing technology in the security sphere has also touched education.

“We”™ve done a bunch of schools,” Godridge said. “Schools have surveillance systems, but now they want to go to the next level and go digitally based instead of VHS.”

He called miscellaneous requests a “mixed bag,” and has serviced Dunkin Donuts to auto body shops.
From 2004 to 2008, index crime rates in Westchester County dropped from 18,620 to 16,558, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Nationally, the U.S. Department of Justice reported a staggering 19.5 percent drop in property crime rates from 1998 to 2007.

The violent crime rate fell 17.7 percent from 1998 to 2007, according to an FBI report.