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Installing security cameras is an important step in protecting a business, but many are under the impression that cameras alone provide the security that so many crave.

“Without active monitoring, cameras are unable to protect a building or prevent potential theft,” says Ben Briggs, regional vice president and general manager of Sonitrol Security Systems of Western New York and Toronto.  “If all you have is a picture of a person whose face is covered by a hoodie, and later give to the police, they are all going to say, ‘If we see him, we’ll give you a call.'”

Active monitoring by Sonitrol changes that entire scenario.  The company that invented audio detection used both audio and video detection to protect buildings and outdoor yards after hours.  Upon a real event, live audio is streamed to a central monitoring station.  This technology eliminates the vast majority of false alarms; 95 percent of traditional motion-detection alarms are false, Briggs says.

“We also don’t have to bother the business owner with nuisance calls,” he explains.  “However, most importantly, when we call the police, we are able to tell them what is actually happening and their response times are dramatically improved.  Audio detection helps our customers avoid false alarms and allows the police to make apprehensions of intruders – more than 170,000 apprehensions and counting.”