San Antonio, Texas – February 3, 2022 – Pro-Vigil, a provider of remote video monitoring, management and crime deterrence solutions, today published its research report, “The State of Physical Security” for the second year in a row. It revealed that, as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, companies continued to experience a rise in physical security incidents in 2021, and they’re expecting these incidents to grow in 2022. However, the majority have not made changes to their security strategies to mitigate these steadily escalating risks.
To gain more insights into the impact of evolving physical security challenges amid the ongoing pandemic, Pro-Vigil polled 116 business operations leaders across a range of vertical industries, including construction, dealerships, retail and manufacturing, among others. Key findings from the survey include:
Incidents are Up While Security Strategies Lag
- 28% of respondents said they saw an increase in physical security incidents in 2021, up from just 20% of respondents in 2020 (detailed in Pro-Vigil’s first research survey.)
- Nearly 27% said they anticipate a continued rise in incidents in 2022.
- Yet, the majority (nearly 57%) said they have not updated their security strategies in the face of these growing threats.
Factors Fueling Security Incidents
- Supply chain problems due to the pandemic – such as increased material costs and shortages, as well as delivery delays – topped the list of drivers for increased security incidents, with nearly 39% of respondents citing this as the primary factor.
- Respondents cited other pandemic-related factors like reduced business hours (nearly 23%) and security guard shortages (10%) as key reasons.
Remote Video Monitoring Use is Up but ROI Opportunities are Being Lost
- Businesses continued to adopt intelligent remote video monitoring (RVM), with nearly 40% of respondents stating they are using it instead of simple record and store video cameras.
- But a large number of respondents (43%) said they don’t use RVM for any other purpose beyond security surveillance – for example, to monitor employee performance, worksite conditions and customer traffic flow, or to identify marketing opportunities.
- Dealerships stood out among the respondent pool as an industry that is maximizing video camera usage and ROI. The overwhelming majority (96%) are using some form of video monitoring, and many are using the full capabilities of intelligent RVM to monitor worksite conditions, foot traffic and employee performance – with only about 23% of respondents stating they don’t use it for anything other than security monitoring.
“Businesses were really hoping to see the pandemic end after 2020, but that hasn’t been the case. Unfortunately, they’re continuing to get hit with more physical security crimes like theft of heavy machinery, construction equipment and retail inventory, among other items. Companies can’t afford this, especially now as they’re also faced with staff and inventory shortages, having to restrict hours and even temporary closures for some. That’s why it’s so frustrating to see that, in many cases, they’re not updating their security strategies at all when changes, such as adding intelligent video surveillance, can make a tangible difference in preventing or stopping these crimes in their tracks,” says Jeremy White, founder of Pro-Vigil.
To download Pro-Vigil’s research report, “The State of Physical Security Entering 2022,” please visit: https://pro-vigil.com/resources/2022-security-survey-report/.
About Pro-Vigil
Founded in 2006, Pro-Vigil provides remote video monitoring solutions to organizations across North America. The company provides both on-premises and mobile intelligent video monitoring systems, and 24x7 remote monitoring services. Unlike typical remote video monitoring services that require companies to make large up-front capital investments in equipment and installation, Pro-Vigil is pioneering the concept of Video Monitoring as a Service, where customers simply pay a monthly fee for monitoring services, with no capital investments required. Pro-Vigil is backed by The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm.
