Utilizing Advanced Technology to Enhance Surveillance 

Casino surveillance teams are tasked with providing a safe environment, protecting assets, and mitigating losses but, for many organizations, the use of dated technology and manual processes has not kept pace with present-day surveillance needs. Faced with limited resources and increased security needs, bolstering prevention efforts is crucial for many surveillance teams. Advanced surveillance technology frees up valuable time, effort, and money for surveillance personnel to redirect toward preventing incidents and increasing the safety of their organizations.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• The benefits of implementing an advanced surveillance system
• Strategies for successful implementation and adoption of a new system
• How to cultivate a healthy relationship between personnel and the new software to enhance initiatives already in place
  

But first, what do we mean when we say “advanced” technology?

Advanced Technology Is Designed for Ease of Use 

For those who aren’t tech savvy, the word “advanced” can be intimidating. However, most modern surveillance systems feature intuitive interfaces and simple navigation that enable daily users to adapt to the new system with ease.

Certain functions of advanced surveillance platforms, such as analytics, reporting, or automation, may require a more in-depth effort to set up, but most software companies have support teams to assist with initial configuration, provide helpful tips and guidance or technical support, and train your team to use the system, if necessary.

Bottom line: Advanced surveillance technology is meant to function seamlessly with your team, not against it. If learning and adapting to a new platform appears to be an initial roadblock, it’s one worth confronting; the benefits of upgrading your surveillance software far outweigh any minor, up-front implementation challenges you may experience.

Benefits of a Surveillance Software Upgrade

Advanced technology empowers surveillance teams to develop better strategies, increase the efficiency of their surveillance operations, and improve the safety of casino patrons, staff, and assets.

Proactively Prevent Incidents

Prevention is a fundamental stage of the incident lifecycle. Advanced surveillance technology automates many daily administrative tasks that detract from your team’s ability to prevent incidents. A comprehensive, fully integrated solution is capable of compiling data from surveillance cameras, incident reports, and visitor management systems, giving your team greater insight into all activities occurring within the casino. By reducing the time spent on administrative tasks and providing deeper insight into incident trends, advanced surveillance software enables your team to focus more of their time and efforts on prevention.

Efficiently Capture, Access, and Report

A critical component of effective surveillance is the ability to capture, access, and report on visitor information. In casinos with multiple locations, entry points, or open spaces, detecting and recording everyone who enters and when incidents occur is challenging—especially in establishments using manual reporting methods. Advanced surveillance systems streamline visitor management, simplify the reporting process, and provide quick and easy access to visitor information.

Respond Quicker

The faster your surveillance team responds to potential threats and security risks, the less likely those incidents will escalate. Prior to modern-day technology, tracking large groups of suspicious individuals, identifying and responding to potential threats, and determining whether or not a suspect remained on the property was extremely difficult. Fortunately, advanced technology provides surveillance teams with greater visibility across the facility, allows easier access to visitor information, and enables quicker identification of trespassers, banned individuals, and other security threats.

Reduce Departmental Costs

Budget cuts and increased workloads often stretch surveillance and security resources. Limited resources challenge surveillance personnel to not only perform the duties required to protect their organizations—and the people within—but also prove the value of their activities to executive leadership. Advanced surveillance software reduces the strain on your team and drastically improves efficiency to help offset the cost of surveillance operations, enabling surveillance personnel to accomplish more with less. Streamlining surveillance functions with modern technology allows surveillance teams to quickly realize a full return on investment and oftentimes save money in the long run.

4 Strategies for Successful Implementation and Adoption

The potential benefits of an advanced surveillance system are too great to ignore—but without a successful implementation and adoption strategy, realizing these benefits is nearly impossible. Employing the following strategies helps ensure the technology truly enhances surveillance functions throughout your organization.

1. Establish Goals

Before investing in advanced surveillance technology, identify definitive goals related to its implementation. Do you want to reduce the frequency of incidents? Improve loss prevention? Gain greater visibility across multiple properties? Identifying specific achievements will help you develop a sound strategy for using the new software.

The best surveillance platforms are customizable, so knowing precisely which problems you want to solve before configuring the database is essential for a successful adoption. Ask yourself: Who will use the platform? What level of permissions and access will it require? What functionality do you need? Communicate these needs to your software provider’s customer support team prior to implementing the new solution.

2. Train Your Team

Surveillance departments often invest in advanced software but don’t fully adopt it into their surveillance programs. For surveillance personnel to successfully utilize the new technology, they must be comfortable using it. Empower your team to use the new software by providing training and establishing defined processes for data entry and software use.

Reaching out to industry counterparts who employ the same technology may be helpful, as well. Users often get creative with their use of the software and achieve more with the platform than they anticipated, so asking for advice and strategies may accelerate your team’s adoption of—and success with—the new software.

3. Maintain the Software

Advanced technology enables surveillance teams to perform their jobs more effectively but only when properly maintained. Upgrade your system periodically, establish a process for data entry, and review the database every few months to verify data accuracy or “cleanliness”. Conducting regular audits and applying available updates to the system will ensure continued functionality and maximum value to your team.

4. Measure Your Success

As with any surveillance initiative, measuring the impact of the new solution before, during, and after its implementation is important. If you invest in optional advanced reporting modules, measuring this impact will be even easier. In-depth analysis of your data will help identify incident trends within your organization; for example, you may find incidents tend to occur in a certain area of the casino more than others. Gaining such insight helps highlight areas for improvement while empowering your team to proactively address issues.

Enhance Your Surveillance Operations with Modern Technology

Upgrading your surveillance system broadens the scope of your surveillance team, improves the safety and security of your casino, and reduces the overall cost of your surveillance efforts.

Successful implementation and full adoption of the software allows surveillance teams to leverage their enhanced capabilities without being bogged down by the new system. Establish goals, train your team, maintain the system, and regularly measure its success to enable your surveillance team to prevent, detect, and respond to potential threats more effectively and efficiently.