Well, the criminals are at it again! In recent metro Atlanta crime news, I saw an article about a business burglary at the Ambush Boarding Company (interesting name in light of the news). There are burglaries at businesses every day in Atlanta. But, what makes this one somewhat unique is that the burglars climbed onto the roof and entered the business through the ceiling. For more details about the burglary, you can view the article online at the Marietta Daily Journal:
http://mdjonline.com/bookmark/13132030
Unfortunately, it is not that uncommon for burglars to enter a business from the roof or to steal objects (such as air conditioners) from your roof. Is your roof protected? There are a number of tools that can be used to protect a roof and ceiling from unlawful entry. Videofied is one product that can be used. You can see our previous blog entry to learn how Videofied works in more detail. Essentially, the system uses MotionViewers that record short video clips when motion is detected and transmits them to our monitoring center so that an alarm monitoring center agent can review the video to determine if there is a crime in progress. It is a very effective video verification system. You can see some actual Videofied video clips on our YouTube page.
Another tool that can be used to protect a business is conventional motion detection as part of a commercial alarm system. Outdoor motion detectors can be installed on the roof to identify movement before a crook can enter the business. And, indoor motion detectors can be installed inside a suspended ceiling to catch those who make it through the roof.
To protect air conditioning systems on the roofs of buildings from theft, we have a great tool from Honeywell security called a Wireless Asset Protection sensor. This is a wireless, battery-powered security sensor that can be attached to anything that you wish to protect and which will report an alarm if that object is moved.
So, while the unfortunate owners at Ambush Boarding Company didn’t have a security system at their business, there are tools that can help them protect their assets in the future. The shame of it is the Ambush Boarding Company had a burglary about eight weeks prior to this one and chose not to install a commercial security system. Maybe now they will put some of these great security tools to work.
-Scott Hightower