Did you know that more burglaries are committed during the winter months than during the summer? Insurance companies experience peak claims every year during the winter as burglars take advantage of the earlier nights and homeowners going away on holiday to warmer climates. Despite this fact, many homeowners still neglect their home's security measures during the latter parts of the year and are experiencing the unfortunate event of having their properties being broken into.

To prevent this from happening, homeowners can implement some simple security tips that increase the protection of their home during the winter, preventing intruders from targeting their property. If you are concerned about your home being broken into and would like to find out how you can implement additional safety measures, read on to see how IDS Security Systems can help!

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CCTV systems are a common part of everyday life. They can be seen in the streets, outside people's homes and in most shops and supermarkets. They keep a watchful eye over us and make it easy to identify perpetrators when a crime has been committed. 

As with all modern technologies, there was a time when our society existed without CCTV (can you imagine!) In fact, the CCTV camera as we know it has only really existed for the last 80-100 years. Let's delve into the history of CCTV to see where it originated and what it was used for. 

The first mechanical CCTV system

The first recorded CCTV system was created by the famous Russian inventor, Léon Theremin in 1927. The system was, as you can imagine, fairly simple and consisted of a manually-operated camera that sent images through a wireless shortwave transmitter and receiver, with a resolution of only 100 lines. 

This CCTV system was quickly recognised as something that could prove very useful to the Russian state and was shown to Joseph Stalin, Semyon Budyonny and Sergo Ordzhonikidze. Once they saw its potential, they requested that this rudimentary CCTV system be installed around the courtyard of the Moscow Kremlin so that security could monitor visitors.

CCTV in WW2

Another example of early CCTV was used by Germany to observe the launch of V-2 rockets in 1942. This CCTV system was created by an electrical engineer called Walter Bruch who was one of the pioneers of German television. This CCTV system was very successful and got people thinking about different ways this technology could be used. 

Commercial CCTV

Commercial CCTV systems didn't hit the market in the United States until 1949. The earliest known commercial CCTV system was called Vericon. Sadly, few records remain to explain what Vericon was, how it worked, or what it was used for. We do know that it was advertised as 'not requiring a government permit' which made it easily accessible to home and business owners for the first time. 

CCTV in the streets

CCTV was being sold commercially, so you'd think it would've exploded onto our streets and into public areas... but this wasn't really the case. The MET trialled a CCTV system in the streets in July 1960 to oversee the arrival of the Thai royal family. Throughout the 60s, different cities across the country including Leeds and Liverpool installed CCTV systems to see if they could make public spaces safer. These trials showed that the idea of having CCTV systems everywhere at the time was unrealistic because it would cost too much to wire it in. 

Widespread CCTV

During the 70s and 80s, CCTV became cheaper and easier to install, so high-risk establishments like shopping stores and banks began to use them. Later, in the 1980s, local authorities began installing CCTV on roads and in streets. Nowadays, CCTV can be found just about everywhere!

READ MORE: How Does CCTV Work?

IDS Security

Here at IDS Security, we have been installing CCTV systems for more than twenty years! We use the most modern technologies on the market and we're specialists in the design, installation and maintenance of bespoke CCTV systems. We work with home and business owners to keep their properties safe. Learn more about our CCTV Systems here:

CCTV Systems >

If you have any questions about our CCTV systems or any of the other security systems we offer, give us a call on 029 20 753 251.

There are so many people across the UK who are getting in the Christmas spirit early this year. 2020 has been a tumultuous year and people are ready for a bit of festive cheer. Here at IDS, we know that businesses have had a lot to cope with and various parts of the UK are still facing the challenge of lockdown restrictions.

One thing's for certain, if and when small businesses can open back up again, they're going to be taking advantage of the Christmas shoppers and hopefully making up for sales lost earlier in the year. 

Here at IDS, we want to help small businesses open up in a safe manner so that they can welcome Christmas shoppers back into their stores with open arms (socially distanced of course).

Controlling customer numbers

One of the first challenges that businesses face during the coronavirus pandemic, is making sure that the number of people inside their store is kept to a minimum.

Now, you've probably seen some smaller businesses using a "one-in, one-out" system, but as the weather gets colder, shoppers may not want to hang around in the cold and wait for their turn to enter your shop. The very thought of this is probably driving Christmas shoppers to buy online anyway, but there is something you can do to make sure your business can accommodate anyone who comes to shop in person.

How can you remedy this? Well, to start with, we'd recommend reading our blog - How Many People Can I Have in My Shop at a Time?

Rather than having one or two people in-store at a time, you'd be able to accommodate more Christmas shoppers with the right technology in place. 

We'd recommend taking a look at our density control cameras, designed to help you manage people coming in and out of your store automatically. That's right, you won't need someone to stand by the door and count people as they come in and out, our density control cameras will do the hard work for you. 

Density Control Cameras >

Detecting COVID-19 in shoppers

Most business owners would agree that knowing whether or not their customers had COVID-19 would make it much easier to create a safe shopping space. Of course, you can do your bit by providing track and trace QR codes, but this only really becomes useful after the customers have been to your store and left. 

You'd hope that people going out and about to do their Christmas shopping would be sensible enough to stay at home if they suspected they had COVID-19, but this isn't always the case. Some people are unaware that they have it and others are taking too long to recognise their symptoms. 

There is a way to protect your business! Our thermal screening cameras can look out for any customers with an unusually high temperature, a key indicator of COVID-19. This can be useful, not only for your customers but for your employees too. Checking temperatures regularly will help make sure that no one visiting or working in your business over Christmas has a fever.

Thermal Screening Cameras >

We know that Christmas 2020 is going to be challenging, but with a little help from IDS Security, you can make your business safe for Christmas shoppers. Give us a call on 029 20 753 251 for more information.

Maintaining your home security system is vital if you want to keep your home and belongings safe! After all, what use is a house alarm if it doesn't respond when you need it to? Checking your home security system is working properly periodically will ensure that you and your family are kept safe if or when an emergency occurs.

Home Security Systems

There are more and more property owners who are thinking about having security systems installed. Here at IDS, we offer a variety of different home security systems solutions including CCTV cameras, intruder alarms and fire alarms. We work with you to create a home security system that suits all of your needs and we can even provide you with a maintenance contract to keep your new home security system working like a dream.

As you can imagine, busy people with busy lives don't always get time to check that their home security systems are working properly, and many don't have the expertise to fix them if something has gone wrong. This means that home security systems up and down the country are rendered completely useless. 

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Maintenance Contracts

If you're thinking about having a home security system installed by the IDS Security team, don't forget to ask about our maintenance contracts. These maintenance contracts provide you with the reassurance that one of our professional engineers will attend your property if a problem occurs at any point - 24 hours, 7 days a week. 

If you notice a problem with your home security system & you've got a maintenance contract with us, all you have to do is call our team on 029 20 753 251 and we'll send an engineer out right away to deal with the problem. Consider our maintenance contracts as an insurance policy for your home security system. We'll carry out the routine maintenance so that your home is protected at all times. 

Read More:  5 Reasons to Get a Home Security System

If you have any questions about home security system maintenance, or if you'd like to add a security system to your home, don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call us on 029 20 753 251.

You can never be overly cautious when it comes to protecting your home or business and the valuables within it. That is why so many home and business owners across the country install effective security systems that allow constant monitoring of their property. But how many cameras are enough? One, two or a complete system which covers your entire property? 

The answer to that question ultimately lies with you, the owner, and the level of security and monitoring that you believe your property requires. If you have a lot of valuable belongings such as within a business that needs a higher degree of protection, then a full security system may be the best choice. However, if you have just one particular area that needs guarding, such as a garden shed or garage, then a one-camera CCTV system may be enough.

Here we talk through our one-camera CCTV systems and explain how they can be of great use to you! 

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