October 28th 2005

How Satellite security helped one company [Tullamore Tribune]

 

Colton Motors one of the Midlands biggest dealerships, has deployed an advanced new security technology system, developed by Carlow Company Netwatch, to prevent losses from vandalism and theft.

Since its inception in 2003, Netwatch, the remote visual monitoring security company, has prevented nearly 850 crimes against businesses throughout the country. Colton Motors has been in business for over 30 years and, has, like many businesses, had its share of theft and vandalism over that time. Generally these have been break-ins to the car dealership's site where valuable cars and equipment are stored. The company previously protected the premises by traditional means, which was not a sufficient deterrent to thieves. Nor did it offer sufficient protection to satisfy the requirements of the insurance company.

"The traditional alarm we had on the buildings acted as a deterrent but didn't protect valuable stock on display in the yard. The passive infrared detectors and cameras placed around the perimeter of the three acre site pick up any intruders and live footage is immediately transmitted to the Netwatch Commmand Centre" says Ronnie Colton, Managing Director of Colton Motors.

"The fact that the System provides an immediate response is critical. Intervention from the Command Centre as an event is happening means that we are successful in preventing acts of vandalism or theft of vehicles occuring. Before installing the Netwatch System I had to respond to numerous alarm activations which were caused by wildlife or the weather. False alarms are now eradicated as each alarm is visually verified by the staff in the Command System, so Garda time isn't wasted," says Ronnie Colton

Carlow based Netwatch is the first company in Ireland to use modern satellite and internet- based technologies to provide remote visual monitoring security systems to businesses throughout the country. Netwatch is an intelligent security system which allows the Netwatch Command Centre to watch in "real time" any intrusion taking place at a premises and, more importantly to speak directly to the criminals before they commit a crime.

When a break-in takes place, live pictures of the area where the security breach has occured are sent to the Command Centre . The Command Centre then speaks directly to the intruder, informing them that they are on private property and that the Gardai have been called. Knowing that they are being watched and that the Gardai have being notified is a huge deterrent - in 95% of cases recorded the intruder leaves the premises without committing a crime.

An added feature of Netwatch, which provides users with great peace of mind is that if a manager or keyholder has to respond to an alarm call in the middle of the night, the Command Centre will keep the premises under surveillance and will let the user know when it is safe to enter the premises. For many companies, protection of staff is even more important than preventing loss of stock.

"Colton Motors is typical of car dealerships throughout the country who are faced with monetary losses through theft, vandalism and so on," said David Walsh, Sales Director, Netwatch.

"A recent report highlighted that almost one in two businesses (46%) has experienced crime in the last 12 months.

"All businesses are faced with stark choices when it comes to protecting their premises. The Netwatch System is trully cost effective with a basic monitoring service costing as little as €15 a day - not much more than what you would pay for one hour of a security guard's time", he said.  

Prevention is the name of the game, as it is far cheaper financially and emotionally to prevent a crime than to solve one. With nine out of ten criminals leaving the premises before they commit the crime, Netwatch is unrivalled in this regard."

As satisfied customer Ronnie Colton puts it: "Netwatch were able to utilise my existing equipment which reduced my installation costs. If intruders gain acess to the site and no criminal activity takes place a full report is waiting for me in the morning showing the pictures of them scarpering after receiving the audio warning without me being disturbed!

The System is user friendly, any XP PC on my network can view the camera live and review the footage to save to CD" said Ronnie Colton.

Netwatch can be contacted by phoning 059 39698. www.netwatchsystem.com