Determining the ROI on security system has always been a difficult thing to estimate. It usually involves looking at average losses over a long period of time and then trying to estimate the impact of capital expenditures on security equipment and measures. Understanding the ROI of expenditures rightly involves understanding the numbers but there are intangibles that also must be understood.
Studies have shown that when a mobile surveillance trailer is placed in the parking lot of a retail store, that losses due to theft in the store decrease. While it is not fully understood why, the fact remains.
To gain a better understanding an independent study was recently commissioned by the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC). Over a 6 month period, mobile surveillance trailers were placed in 2 cities that previously had never had any similar units. The 2 cities were Opeilka, AL and Paducah KY. No offense but we had never heard of them either. The study wanted to see how effective the units were in curbing crime over a 6 month period.
Here are the results:
OPEILKA, ALABAMA
- 40% drop in shoplifting
- 31% drop in disorderly conduct
- 15% reduction in property crime
- 10% overall reduction in crime
- 80% drop in weapons violations
- 54% drop in burglaries
- 43% decrease in trespassing
- 15% drop in property crime
- 13% overall reduction in crime