Page 12 - the SyI Quarterly

Our Membership
Establishing the complementary
role of CCTV Monitoring
Sian Doherty MSyI - Managing Director, Arc Monitoring
Finding my feet within the Security Industry and establishing the
complementary role of CCTV Monitoring
The world was quite a different place in the summer of 2010 than today.
The UK was coming out of a recession and I was about to embark on my
first full time role after 3 years of study at University in Bristol. I was lucky
enough to be awarded a scholarship to read Early Childhood studies and
had my sights set on a career in education. I am a realist, I knew I couldn’t
offer much to the future generation having not lived a life out of education
myself. I set about looking for a role that would be suitable for another
year in the vibrant city of Bristol before I started my teacher training.
When I applied for Arc Monitoring, an Alarm Receiving Centre in the north
of Bristol, I wasn’t sure what they did, I didn’t even know where their office was… neither did my taxi driver on
the day of the interview. Back then google maps wasn’t a thing! I was interested in the role as it was 4 days
on, 4 days off. During the interview I was taken on a tour of the office and shown the control room. A steel
lined room, no windows and each desk had 9 monitors. It looked like something from a film!
When I was offered the role and arrived at Arc, I was inducted into the world of Remote Video Response by
the trainer. I learnt how the CCTV system had detector’s linked to the cameras, so that when the bugler ran
in front of the camera, swag bag in-hand, images where presented in our control room. My role was then to
issue an audio warning back to the site and watch the bugler scamper off empty handed and inform a ‘key
holder’ of the event. It was quite exhilarating! Whilst I had seen CCTV used retrospectively to playback video,
I had no idea it could be used as a proactive tool to stop an event in progress. Back in 2010, it was all done
through dial up internet and ADSL broadband, mobile internet was still just for a select few.
My first role at Arc was as a CCTV operator / administrator. Between 08:00 – 17:00, weekdays, I added sites,
answered questions, pulled off footage and tested sites with engineers. Between 17:00 – 20:00 and all day on
a weekend, I handled these ‘alarms’ of footage, practicing my audio technique. My first piece of feedback was
to stop saying ‘please’ over the audio to the intruders it doesn’t give off an air of authority!
This role allowed me to learn in detail how the systems worked to provide the monitoring service but it also
gave me a huge insight into human behaviour. We monitored and continue to monitor a large number of
open sites. An open site is where a member of the public can just wonder in, like a car sales forecourt. I
learnt how to spot suspicious activity of these sites and respond appropriately.
12
Over the past 12 years, just as I have progressed in my role so has the technology…. Alarm Receiving
Centres now have super-fast, fibre to the premises internet. They have dedicated alarm receiving software
which can handle incoming alarms from thousands of different Network Video Recorders and Video
Management Systems. Detection technology is now very precise, as well as physical detectors, video
analytics and artificial intelligence can be used to pinpoint specific activities on sites. The possibilities are
vast.
At the start of my journey within security, I have sometimes felt that our work, providing remote monitoring
services, wasn’t really security in the strictest sense. Yes, we held BS 5979 and BS 8418, had audits every
year from the National Security Inspectorate and held licences from the Security Industry Authority but we
weren’t on the front line, we were in the background. There appeared to be a big disconnect between the
services offered by our colleagues as security officers and those in law enforcement.
Monitoring stations are technology focused, during the first few years of my career, I completed courses in
basic IT and networking to aid my role at Arc, helping engineers overcome IT issues to get complex CCTV
systems online. It felt like the future of monitoring was coming but it was still a bit of a dark art. Around
2017/2018 I began researching security services further. Arc were getting more enquiries which challenged
our typical service offer. We were being asked to collaborate with security officers, to link with access
control, to provide Virtual Private networks to host secure connections and ultimately offer a more joined
up security service.
It was around this time that I received instructions from The Security Service to provide the highest level
of service to critical national infrastructure sites across the UK. That was a real turning point for me.
Suddenly all the dots began to link together. I set about joining the Security Institute as a student member,
completing the L5 Security Institute Diploma in Security Management along the way. Becoming a member
of the Institute, connecting with others on LinkedIn and attending more events gave me so much knowledge
about the security sector and the opportunities out there.
There is sometimes an argument made that remote monitoring and technology makes the role of a front
line security officer redundant. I would argue the opposite. In my role at Arc. I must always ask the question
“what/who are we trying to protect?” We get to see the wider picture and show how remote monitoring
may enhance the role provided by an onsite or attending Security Officer. We are able to provide detailed
reports of incidents, real time information, and lone worker protection
After 12 years I can say with confidence that I have found my feet within the Security Industry. I can see a
really bright future where joined up services can offer the very best for our clients. I am looking forward to
the next 12 years and the advancements that will come next.
13