Security Surveillance

Hotels accommodate a transient population — guests, diners, visitors — and that is exactly the environment criminals look for. A single incident affects guest safety, property and the reputation of the property. Cash handling at the front desk and finance office makes those areas a priority, and fire detection has to work at the earliest stage of an incident rather than after smoke is visible.

A CCTV and alarm system has four parts: cameras (with audio pickups and alarm detectors where needed), transmission, control, and display and recording.

Cameras — the eyes of the system. Each camera is positioned so its field of view covers the area under surveillance. For large areas, motorised zoom lenses and pan-tilt heads extend both the distance and the angle a single camera can cover, which reduces the number of cameras and simplifies transmission and control.

Transmission — the path for video, audio and control signals. Most hotel systems use baseband video over 75-ohm coaxial cable because distances are short. Where a camera is far from the control room, radio frequency or fiber transmission is used. The requirement is that the signal arrives without visible noise or distortion, and that resolution and greyscale are preserved.

Control — the heart of the system. The control console amplifies and distributes video, corrects and compensates the signal, switches between cameras and records. It also drives pan-tilt heads and zoom lenses, arms and disarms zones, and on alarm displays the zone, triggers the siren, lights and recorder.

Recording — a digital video recorder combines matrix switching and multi-picture processing, gives continuous recording of every camera, stores far more than tape and makes retrieval straightforward. Where budget allows, digital recording is the recommended option.

The deterrent effect matters as much as the evidence: a visible, well-designed system discourages attempts in the first place, and when something does happen it produces a reliable record for investigation.

We design the camera schedule, cabling route, storage retention and alarm linkage to the property layout, and hand over as-built drawings plus operating training for the security team.