Many businesses opt for video cameras as a form of security to protect their businesses such as this grocery warehouse theft. However, the owners of a grocery warehouse in Auburn, Washington quickly discovered that having video camera surveillance did not protect them from having thousands of dollars worth of merchandise stolen from their warehouse.
The first indication of a problem was a warehouse door standing open when the owners arrived for work early one morning. After pulling up the video from the video cameras installed throughout the facility, it was quickly discovered that the grocery warehouse had been broken into during the overnight hours. The video clearly showed the warehouse theft with a person spending nearly 30 minutes in the building, walking around as if he were shopping during normal business hours.
During the grocery warehouse theft the thieves managed to take packages of steak, chicken and ground beef, other types of high-end groceries and numerous non-prescription medications. The total cost of the haul was estimated at $4,000. The owners, who had recently purchased the small business, aren’t sure if they will be able to recover from the loss completely.
A new security system installed prior to the grocery warehouse theft came complete with video surveillance cameras for watching the premises. But the video feeds were not monitored live. The thief was visible in the footage, and local news stations aired the videos looking for leads in the case. Even though a suspect was arrested over a week after the incident based on that footage, there is no guarantee that these business owners will recover any restitution for the theft.
While cameras did provide footage that eventually led to an arrest in this case, the loss could have been considerably less. Live monitored video cameras could have alerted authorities to the break-in well before the perpetrator was able to “shop” around the warehouse for almost 30 minutes, giving dispatched police plenty of time to make an arrest.
This warehouse is not a client of Stealth Monitoring. Stealth proactive live surveillance can detect and deter crime in Washington state and cities throughout the U.S. while reducing security guard and other expenses. A Stealth operator could have seen unusual activity like grocery warehouse theft, activated an audible warning to deter the thief, and called the local police.
Please contact Stealth today for more information to protect your warehouse of other industrial property. Visit our web site to see actual videos of criminals being apprehended.
