The largest outlet mall in America is located in Sunshine, Florida. The mall contains 350 retail merchants, all which rely on security cameras to keep their employees honest and safe, keep their customers safe and to protect their merchandise and property.Sawgrass Mills is owned by Sun Simon Property Group, Incorporated. Sun Simon is the largest real estate company in the world. The company owns properties throughout North America, Asia, Europe, Puerto Rico, Asia, and France. The company is very security focused and that focus begins with great retail store security cameras.
Other retail stores in Sunshine, Florida follow the lead of the Sawgrass Mills. Security for Sawgrass Mills begins with risk assessment. Working with the local authorities, Sawgrass Mills regularly conducts risk assessments focusing particularly on the parking lot. They use retail security cameras to make sure that all the lights in the parking lot are functioning properly. Trouble around malls tends to occur in areas where lighting is poor. Therefore, Sawgrass Mills spends a great deal of attention to assuring that the lights are always functioning properly.
The second area of focus for Sawgrass Mills is maintenance issues. A well maintained property draws a higher class of shopper. Poor maintenance, such as trash cans overflowing, can lead to customer accidents. These accidents cost retailers, like Sawgrass Mills, thousands of dollars each year. By using the security cameras these areas can quickly be found and corrected. Maintenance issues can occur quickly in retail establishments. With the use of security cameras they can be spotted just as quickly and steps taken to correct them. Following risk assessment, the next step in security for retailers like Sawgrass Mills is security patrols. The patrolmen and women receive their directions from superiors who are looking at retail security cameras.
The first purpose of these security people is to control hazards that might be the cause of accidents for shoppers, vendors and employees. In many retail establishments, one person must guard the hazard while others work to clear it away. This assures the most safety for everyone.
The second purpose of security is to enforce codes of conduct. Again, retail security cameras are used to spot trouble as early as possible. It is impossible to have security everywhere. When problems are spotted, then security can quickly arrive at the scene. Problems that are taken care of when they are small provide the best retail experience.
The third purpose of security is to offer customer service assistance. When a customer is experiencing problems with their car or having a hard time getting to their car, then security can offer a hand. This builds good will within the community. It encourages customers to want to return. It also helps stop loitering in the parking lot. Often thieves will pose as customers in trouble, so assuring that these people have no need to hang out in the retail establishment’s parking lot makes good sense. Retail security cameras can be used to alert security to where they are needed.
The fourth purpose of security is to assist customers and staff who may be having an emergency. This assures these emergencies are taken care of quickly before they can draw a crowd. Retail security cameras can spot the trouble; superiors viewing the cameras then can send the patrol to where they are needed. While no one at Sawgrass Mills will say exactly where the cameras are placed or what type of cameras are being used, experts can make some educated guesses.
Sawgrass Mills probably uses many box cameras in their parking lot. These cameras can be pointed in many directions, but once the direction is set it must be manually reset if not correct. These cameras can use a multitude of lenses depending on what Sawgrass Mills hopes to accomplish with the cameras. They can easily be made weatherproof. The disadvantage of these cameras is that once detected it is relatively easy to tell which direction the camera is filming.
We can also assume that Sawgrass Mills is using some point, tilt and zoom cameras. These cameras make it easy for the camera to be pointed in a certain direction to catch the action. This camera movement can be controlled from a remote location. The camera can also be tilted to be better capture the action. The camera can also be zoomed to get a better look at the action. We can assume that these cameras are often used to tell the security personnel where they are needed.
We can also assume that Sawgrass Mills is using infrared cameras in some parking lot locations. These cameras are great in low light conditions. If the power goes out at Sawgrass Mills, these cameras will still operate. We can also assume that many of the cameras at Sawgrass Mills are equipped with high resolution. This allows the security personnel to still see a clear image even when only a certain area of the image is enlarged.
Likewise, we can assume that many of the cameras are equipped with storage in the camera. Like the memory card in our digital cameras, this allows the camera to store the image for later viewing if there is a problem with transmitting the photo to the security office.
The second area of great concern for Sawgrass Mills is the delivery area. Security in this area is very tight. It is greatly enhanced by retail security cameras.
Sawgrass Mills is probably recording a photo of each package that enters and leaves the delivery area. These images are probably done with a point, tilt and zoom camera to allow the best image to be captured. Furthermore, only certain individuals are allowed in the delivery area. The hours for deliveries will be extremely limited. Many malls only allow deliveries from 7 AM to 3 PM with a lunch time break. Each box will be counted as it enters the store. It will then be checked against a master list. In the past many retail establishments paid little attention to the delivery areas. However, malls now recognize that this was an easy path for a terrorist to get a package inside the store. Almost all retail establishments are now accounting for this area better. Most use retail security cameras to enhance this process.
Inside the mall, as shoppers move from one store to the next within Sunshine, Florida, they will be filmed many times. Many types of retail security cameras may be used to watch their movement watching for suspicious behavior, customer emergencies and other signs of trouble. Common retail security cameras used in Sunshine, Florida, include the box camera. These cameras are great for inside use because they are inexpensive to install with few maintenance problems. The lenses on these cameras are easy to change depending on the needs of the company. Box cameras are easy to spot, but the mere presence of the cameras is enough to deter many thieves.
Another type of camera in use in Sawgrass Mills is a dome camera. These small cameras are easy to install and once installed look like a half circle in the ceiling. These cameras are hard to detect by shoppers. The disadvantage of dome cameras is that they cannot be controlled to look at certain situations closely. Often these cameras are equipped with fisheye lenses. These lenses record a 360 degree view of what is directly below the camera. For the uneducated, it can be hard to interpret the image captured with a fisheye lens. Sawgrass Mills may also be using hidden spy retail security cameras. These cameras are usually small in size and can be hidden in many objects around the mall. To the shopper, they can look simply like a plant, a clock or any other object they expect to see in that environment. These hidden spy retail security cameras are especially useful if trouble spots are known to exist around the mall.
Once a shopper enters a store, they can be assured they will be further filmed. Again, retail box security cameras may be in place. Retail dome security cameras may also be in place. These retail security cameras will be designed to watch the shopper while they are in the store. They are also designed to watch the employees of the store. Many corporations will have their own security cameras installed along with the security cameras of Sawgrass Mills.
Sawgrass Mills does a superb job of protecting shoppers on their property. They make great use of retail security cameras in their Sunshine, Florida, location. If you own or manage a retail location, then you should be taking lessons from them. Use retail security cameras to protect your shoppers. Consider using them in your parking lot, your delivery areas, your common passage areas and within your stores. Then if trouble exists you will have the recorded evidence to proof what happened. They are the most important tool in the toolbox of security. They can be used to locate hazards, locate customer emergencies and locate trouble while it is still little.
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