Shopping Mall Surveillance and Redaction

In today’s world, it is crucial to monitor all the activities at the shopping mall because no one wants to find himself in a dangerous situation due to dysfunctional or lack of a security system. That is why you will find that in most shopping malls, there are fully operational security systems strategically placed to improve security. In the digital era, video monitoring has emerged as the number one contender for safety in the shopping malls and other public places. However, there are other security systems which have been proven to be just as effective.

The Best Security Systems for Shopping Malls

CCTV Security Cameras Most shopping malls install CCTV security cameras to help monitor common areas of the mall like food courts, walkways, and parking lots. Some malls also employ human security guards to monitor the cameras and make random inspections around the mall and patrol parking areas. Crimes in shopping malls usually follow a typical pattern and can include shoplifting, nuisance behaviors, or even robberies. Shopping malls located in affluent areas are likely to attract a greater number of car thieves too. CCTV security captures excellent image quality and provides security departments with a clear picture of the mall surroundings in real time and recordings.

Security Camera Monitoring

Since most malls use security guards to monitor their CCTV security cameras consistently, it is crucial for employees to understand how to detect criminal behaviors while monitoring the live video. CCTV camera systems should be well placed for it to capture the best video. The presence of these security cameras alone can also deter crime. Security cameras can also be used to monitor employees when they are working the cash registers to avoid thefts. Some shopping malls can also contract with local professional security companies to help monitor their shopping centers. In the end, this can save the mall significant time and money.

Emergency Preparedness

Shootings in shopping malls aren’t new occurrences across the country. Mall security must always be on the lookout for this possible threat. Many mall security departments review and update their security plans today to prepare for this potential event. Shopping centers should always be prepared for emergencies of any kind, be it shooting, bomb threat, or weather emergency. Security experts consider retail malls as soft targets. That’s because you have an influx of people entering and exiting the mall through multiple locations. Such an environment only makes it easy for an active shooter to enter and exit the building quickly. This puts shoppers and employees at risk. It is crucial for shopping mall security departments to establish a good emergency preparedness plan at all times.

Shoplifting Training

Shoplifting is a big problem for every retail mall. It’s in order for the mall security force to be trained on rapid response for this type of threat. They should also be in the know for shoplifting laws of the state (These laws can vary from state to state). Mall security personnel need to know how and when to confront a shoplifter safely. CCTV cameras can help in this area by recording the event. This data can easily be turned over to local law enforcement to aid in an investigation.

Benefits of CCTV Cameras in Shopping Malls

• Theft Situations: As mentioned above, there is always a huge risk of theft at the shopping malls. There may be various kinds of expensive and valuable items at a retail mall. I bet you do not want to experience the loss of your valuable items on display to theft. With an installed CCTV system at your commercial place, it is easier to prevent the threats of theft and deal with it accordingly if it ever happens.
• Quarrel and Disagreements: At the shopping malls, situations of quarrel and disagreement with customers are common and can occur at any time. Worst case scenario, the customer gets violent. In such cases, you don’t want to compromise on the security of your assets. If you installed CCTV services at the shopping mall, then you would handle such situations confidently.
• Emergency Situations: Eminent emergency situations like fire, terrorist attack, or other natural disasters are not unusual for most shopping malls. In such situations or anything similar, CCTV systems can be beneficial for the safety of employees and customers. To help handle such emergency situations in a better way, you need to get the services of CCTV at the commercial place.
• Lost Children at Shopping Malls: There are many customers who’ll always visit the malls with family. It is normal to hear of cases of a lost child due to the large crowd at the retail malls. At the shopping mall, there are various beautiful and attractive things that can attract children’s attention. To help reduce the stress and hustles of finding the lost children manually at a shopping mall, CCTV surveillance systems can always be a lifesaver.
• Vandalism: Store owners also face the threat of vandalism as a result of the many people coming in and out of the shopping mall. If you want to prevent the security threats, at least have some evidence to present to the authorities for investigation, you need to install CCTV surveillance services.

Despite these outstanding Pros of CCTV surveillance in the shopping malls, there are also disadvantages which can arguably slow down the effectiveness of CCTV solution.

Disadvantages of CCTV Surveillance Systems

• Abuse of Surveillance Systems: A con of CCTV cameras in public places is that these security cameras could be abused. An example of how a CCTV camera can be misused is if that information obtained by criminals who can use it as some kind of blackmail. Another example of abuse is voyeurism. Spying on a person with public surveillance cameras is not unheard of; it is an issue which needs to be addressed instantly if the success of CCTV surveillance system in public places is compromised. Generally, the simple lack of control or defined limits on public camera use is one of the biggest worries for most people. Until the invention of video redaction software, there’s a good chance to eliminate these worries of privacy intrusion.
• Effectiveness of a Public Security Camera is Doubted: Another controversy surrounding video surveillance in public places is that its effectiveness is still in doubt. While there has been a push for the installation of more public CCTV cameras, to help curb threats like terrorism, it is quite clear that a suicide bomber wouldn’t be deterred by the mere fact that there is a camera somewhere in place.
• Public Camera Surveillance is Expensive: CCTV surveillance system definitely is not going to come cheap. It costs a lot of money. So, people may argue that since it is not effective enough to prevent crimes and theft, why would anyone invest a fortune in it, yet at the same time, the CCTV violates personal rights of privacy, which not only fails to make us safer but could also violate our personal rights!

Video Redaction is the Solution

The prevalence of video recordings from smartphones, dash cams, body cams, and CCTV cameras, surely means that privacy becomes the elephant in the room, especially in light of the laws such as the Freedom of Information Act, CCPA, or GDPR.

Video redaction comes as a viable solution, as it is used to blur sensitive and personally identifiable information that people wouldn’t want to be revealed. A typical workflow (outdated) involves simple detection, tracking, and manual intervention. However, automated methods rely on the accuracy of detection mechanisms being paired with robust and reliable tracking methods across the video sequence to ensure the complete redaction of all sensitive data while minimizing spurious obfuscations.

Video redaction protects the privacy and identity of innocent bystanders, minors, passers-by, and undercover police officers. It also involves obscuring identifying information within individual video frames. Identifying information that can be redacted often includes; faces, license plates, identifying clothing, house numbers, tattoos, computer screens, and so on. Video redaction, therefore, means that such data will be blanked out or blurred within a region, e.g., applying a tight crop around a person’s face. Alternatively, it can involve blanking out the whole frame save for the portions that are not considered private.

Conclusion

Today, one thing is for sure, public cameras and CCTV surveillance can be extremely helpful. On the other hand, heated debates have also arisen about the intrusion of privacy through potential abuse of the surveillance cameras involved. Besides, there are always crimes that will never be deterred by surveillance cameras. Video redaction can be the missing link to iron out the difference between video monitoring and privacy concerns. It provides a balance between public safety and personal privacy that has been often forgotten or ignored by most authorities.

It is fair to conclude that the benefits of surveillance greatly outweigh the disadvantages. One can only imagine how bad the situation would be, suppose there were no public security cameras at all. There wouldn’t be much concern about privacy violation if you behaved in public places because security in public places is always the top priority. However, the term ‘behaved yourself’ is arguably too wide for some people. we suggest you get the best video redaction software today and get rid of all your worries.