Security video can be effective when used as evidence in identifying a suspect after a crime has occurred. It can’t, however, do much on its own to deter a crime in progress.
A used car dealership in Seattle learned this lesson the hard way.
Seattle Police are looking for vandals who attacked a used car dealership. According to the security video, a light colored car slowed down while it passed the dealership. Someone in the back seat streamed a liquid spray onto cars and trucks in the parking lot.
The owner of the dealership believed the liquid spray may have been a type of acid or chemical because it was so corrosive, it stripped the paint down to the metal. The spray also broke and damaged several plastic parts. Nearly 30 cars, or a quarter of the inventory, were destroyed. Damage was estimated at $150,000. Extensive work, including stripping, resurfacing, repainting and buffing, will be needed to bring the cars back to life.
The incident was not the first time this used car dealership was targeted — it was the fourth, including another chemical spray attack.
The owner of the Seattle car dealership felt he was specifically targeted. Not only were the attacks costly, the chemical spraying poses a safety hazard. The attacks are a part of an ongoing investigation.
This used car dealership is not a Stealth Monitoring client.
Live security video monitoring was not reported, which means the video feed was not watched in real time. If it were, a trained security operator could have seen the vandals and called local police. The operators could have even provided responding officers with up-to-date information about the suspects, including their location and description of their vehicle. This all would have increased the chances of the suspects getting caught while still on or near the dealership.
Stealth Monitoring, a privately held company with U.S. headquarters in Dallas, TX, and Canadian headquarters in Toronto, ON, is North America’s leading provider of live video monitoring solutions. We specialize in proactive and intelligent video monitoring technology that can significantly improve threat detection and police response. Our security solutions feature advanced technology, coupled with human intelligence and efficient processes, to help detect and deter crime while reducing security guard and other expenses. We are also heavily invested in the future of computer vision and artificial intelligence. We are actively developing new technologies that can enable executives with valuable business intelligence data to improve their day-to-day operations and decision-making abilities. We have over 500 employees, 15 offices, and 3 redundant live video monitoring control centers. Our team proactively monitors 20,000+ cameras daily, resulting in more than 15,000 deterred crimes, 500+ arrests and 35,000+ analyzed customer videos every year, securing peace of mind for business owners throughout North America. Our clients include construction sites, shopping centers, apartment buildings, auto dealers, office buildings, industrial facilities, distribution yards, cannabis operations, and other businesses with outdoor assets. They range from large global enterprises to single location companies. Our proactive solutions can help reduce external and internal theft, vandalism, property damage and provide you with actionable business intelligence. We can even reduce or replace security guards at a fraction of the cost – up to 60% savings.
Please call toll-free (866) 382-3873 or contact Stealth today for more information to protect your outdoor assets. Visit the Stealth web site to see real videos of criminals being arrested at construction sites, multifamily apartments, shopping centers, office buildings, warehouses, auto dealerships, and other commercial real estate properties.
