Complete Security Solutions

Global retail theft totalled $119 billion during the 12-month period ending in June, a 6.6 percent increase compared to the same period one year ago, according to a new report. Click here to read the complete story

Click here to read the full story

Click here to see the story/video from ABC news

"Free" alarm systems are not usually free.

The Home Safety Council offers tips to keep your home safe this summer. Turn Up the Lights •Put bright lights over porches and walkways in the front and back. Lock It Up •All doors to the outside should have working locks. •Garage and shed doors need working locks too. •All windows should have working locks. •Keep all doors to the outside, sliding doors, and windows locked. Be Able to Get Out •Make sure everyone can open all locks from inside your home. •Don't have deadbolt locks that lock with an inside key. You need to get out fast if a fire starts. A missing key could trap you inside. •Replace inside-key locks with deadbolt locks that have a “thumb turn” instead of an indoor key. •Make sure everyone in your family can reach the “thumb turn” latch. •Have window locks that open from inside. Do not nail windows shut. Make sure they open easily. •If you have security bars on doors and windows, have a “quick-release” latch. This makes it easy to get outsid...

Prominently placed security cameras can help deter potential thieves and identify those who do steal. A store cashier pockets the $20 bill that a busy commuter hands him to pay for fuel. A shopper picks up a tube of lip balm and casually drops it into her purse. A customer slips on a wet floor next to a “caution” sign, but his attorney later claims no such signs were at the scene. These incidents occur in retail establishments on a regular basis. For years, convenience store operators relied on analog video surveillance to discourage employee theft, deter crime and record store activity, but traditional analog cameras typically provide blurry, unclear images. That drawback can prevent a retailer from actually using a recording to solve a problem or provide prosecutable evidence in a criminal case. Thanks to the Internet, store operators concerned about shrink, shortage and safety now have the ability to videotape all in-store activities, plus monitor their outlets in real time fr...

Unfortunately, jewelry stores and pawn shops in the Asheville area have become a prime target for thieves (watch video/read story here) . Would you like to make sure you have the latest protection against teft? Help put a stop to it NOW with the Virtual Guard Protection System from MonitorClosely.com. A traditional CCTV system that only records may be good for reviewing a crime but it is not that beneficial in notification of a crime in progress. Our system will allow you to do both!! It's a normal CCTV recording system during the day and a Virtual Guard at night! It is critical that law enforcement is notified immediately, WHILE the crime is in progress, in order to apprehend the criminal and prevent further damage or loss. The MonitorClosely.com Virtual Guard Service ultimately saves you money (ROI in the first year)! It is like having full-time hired guards but at a fraction of the cost. In addition, our system works 24/7, never takes a break, never falls asleep, doesn...

Who is watching you or your family in the privacy of your own home? If you are using an "over the counter" security camera, it may not be that secure. Read the full story below. Are security cameras secure? What experts say you should do to - KOAM TV 7 Joplin and Pittsburg MonitorClosely.com can provide you with a state of the art SECURE video surveillance system. Contact us today for a free site survey.

The FBI on Thursday was urging banks to change security measures in an effort to make it harder for bank robbers to conceal their identities. Click here to read the full story

Video surveillance systems can play a very valuable role in tackling internal theft within businesses, according to one expert. Tom Reeve, editor of SecurityNewsDesk.com, said CCTV in the workplace can prevent such crimes from occurring and provide evidence if they do. "Internal theft continues to be a big, intractable problem," he remarked. "But if you've got good CCTV systems in place and employees know that, that can be very valuable as a deterrent." He added: "If it doesn't deter them, if you catch the few people that are committing most of the crimes you can reduce your losses considerably just by getting the evidence you need against a couple of people." However, Mr Reeve insisted that businesses should not rely on CCTV cameras as the first line of defence against internal theft and other instances of crime. He said they should instead provide an extra layer of protection on top of perimeter security and internal measures such as locks ...

Luckily this childcare facility had a video surveillance system in place which helped to dispute an abuse charge. Read the full story here . Is your childcare facility protected? If not, you owe it to yourself and to your clients - invest in a high quality digital surveillance system. Contact MonitorClosely.com for a free site survey. In addition, MonitorClosely.com maintains a secure portal which allows your clients to login and view select cameras. As a bonus, we handle any technical issues directly with your clients saving you valuable time. Offering this service to your clients also helps to generate additional revenue for YOUR business. Most customers are able to quickly recoup their initial investment and actually turn their video surveillance system into a means of generating additional profit! Contact us for more details. 828-273-1657 or sfox@monitorclosely.com

CBS News reports on the growing "slip and fall" scam. Is your business protected? Well, if you do not have a high quality digital surveillance system, the answer is no. More than ever, people who slip and fall in public establishments are turning out to be fraudulent. Sharyl Attkisson reports on one of the fastest-growing scams in the U.S. View the video by clicking here.

By Rick Moon Posted: Jan. 15, 2011 8:00 a.m. Katie Duelge figures that her New Berlin neighborhood is safe. The streets are quiet. Neighbors watch out for each other. Crime is almost non-existent. Still, she’s not taking any chances. Duelge added a security system to her home this past summer. It’s an extra layer of protection. One can never be too safe, she reasoned. Click here to read the full story

By David Colmans The classic Charles Dickens story, “A Tale of Two Cities,” starts out with the words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” So it is when the holidays roll around and we may throw caution to the wind. Just drive through most any neighborhood from “Black Friday” after Thanksgiving through the Super Bowl next year. What to your wandering eyes should appear, but little invitations to area burglars who now know where to find all the good stuff. There’s one or two days a week that the bad guys eagerly wait for. It’s the “Come Burglarize My House” sign that may be in your yard. The day before and the day of trash pick-up are great for cruising. That’s when most of us put out, along with our regular trash, the empty boxes from the new HDTVs, computers, appliances and other goodies we buy ourselves during the holidays. Here is something to think about to help with home safety precautions. 1. The bad guys just make notes of the addresses where they see the empt...

THE ISSUE: Burglaries OUR OPINION: Christmas is time of vulnerability The shopping season has begun in earnest. Advice is frequent on caution while shopping. Don't become the victim of a robbery as you're scurrying about stores, malls and parking lots. But what about your home? Click here to read the entire story

While analysts are cautiously optimistic about this year's holiday retail outlook, retailers need to take steps to prevent shoplifters or a dishonest employee from dampening a good selling season. Below is a list to help retailers protect their businesses this holiday season: 1. Make sure your video surveillance system is working properly. It may have been a while since you looked closely at your video surveillance system and confirmed that it was capturing images properly. Check to see that the cameras are still positioned to give you optimal coverage. Make sure the system’s digital video recorder (DVR) or network video recorder (NVR) is plugged in! Also make sure you have a UPS in place and that it has been tested. 2. Verify that your holiday decorations and displays do not obstruct your security systems. Watch out for decorations and displays that may obstruct video cameras or set off motion sensors. Mylar balloons are notorious for causing false alarms. 3. Test your hol...

October is National Crime Prevention Month and is a time when communities across the country raise awareness about crime and what can be done to help prevent it. Did you know that in any given year, property crimes -- including burglary -- outnumber violent crimes almost 8 to 1? And statistics show that a burglar will spend 45 minutes deciding which home is going to be his next target but only three minutes actually burglarizing the residence. With this in mind, the security experts at Schlage have come up with a Top 10 list of things you can do help to keep your family and home from becoming crime targets. 1. Make sure each exterior door has a solid core and is protected by a high-quality deadbolt, including the door linking the garage and house. Also, secure all windows with quality locks -- even those on the second floor. 2. Invest in a home-security system with central monitoring, and if you move into a home that already has a security system, change the entry code. 3. Keep...

Are you having problems with the theft of catalytic converters, vandalism - or do you have even bigger problems such as this dealer in California (watch video here) ? Put a stop to it NOW with the Virtual Guard Protection System from MonitorClosely.com. A traditional CCTV system that only records may be good for reviewing a crime but it is not that beneficial in notification of a crime in progress. Our system will allow you to do both!! It's a normal CCTV recording system during the day and a Virtual Guard at night! It is critical that law enforcement is notified immediately, WHILE the crime is in progress, in order to apprehend the criminal and prevent further damage or loss. The MonitorClosely.com Virtual Guard Service ultimately saves you money (ROI in the first year)! It is like having full-time hired guards but at a fraction of the cost. In addition, our system works 24/7, never takes a break, never falls asleep, doesn't need a vacation, never asks for a raise and ne...

"Everybody knows that a security camera system, even if it is only made up of one camera, can be one of the most useful tools you can have as a business owner. A security camera system can catch criminals in the act, deter criminals from attempting a crime, or even catch dishonest employees. One such case of a security camera system catching a thieving employee comes from Akron, Ohio. Willie Grimes, a 22-year-old resident of Akron, has recently been charged with theft. According to police, Grimes was caught stealing from a Chapel Hill shoe store where he was employed. When the owner of the store Grimes worked for caught him trying to take two pairs of shoes out of the store, he immediately fired him. The owner examined security footage from past days and found that Grimes had been smuggling shoes out of the store for quite some time. Grimes would hide the shoes in trash bags that he would take out back to the trash can and then hide the empty shoe boxes in the rafters of the...

Greenville County Council unanimously approved an ordinance that will help residents and visitors of downtown Greenville sleep a little easier at night and enjoy their visit a little more. Greenville police say the surveillance cameras in downtown Greenville have been instrumental in helping them catch criminals and the goal of adding a new one is expected to do the same. Lt. Joe Browning with the Greenville police department says, "Having those cameras there makes some folks think twice before they knock out a window." Most recently the surveillance cameras in downtown Greenville were key in catching the suspects who investigators say vandalized a brick statue on Main Street. Lt. Browning says, "We had a new statue installed just below the Greenville news and some individuals decided to vandalize that statue by removing the head. We were able to go back and get video footage of the actual crime, the vehicle they were driving and it didn't take us long to sol...