CCTV hardware provider Petards Vision hosted then Home Secretary Jack Straw at the opening of the Cougar monitoring station in the Midlands.
CCTV hardware provider Petards Vision hosted Home Secretary Jack Straw at the opening of the Cougar monitoring station in the West Midlands. Mr Straw was shown how crime can be prevented by video movement detection, transmitted to the central station via telephone lines, whereby operators verify the alarm activity with live video images from the premises under surveillance. All images relayed back to the operator at the monitoring station are recorded for evidential purposes. From one of three networked operator terminals, the operator either activates a local response force to the event or duly alerts the police who respond accordingly. Cougar operators monitor more than 250 sites; about a dozen incidents per month have been prevented due to the rapid reaction of operators, the firm reports. Audio interaction between the operators and the site allows a verbal warning to be given to an intruder to inform them that their presence is known and that they are being recorded. The method of operation adopted by Cougar, with the use of Petards system, has led to a massive increase in the early detection of crime at remotely monitored sites. Freight forwarding company, Nightfreight have experienced a dramatic reduction in crime from their 27 depots. Linden Andrews described how Petards equipment reduced crime after implementation in 2000: “This equipment is proven to be first class in assisting our company in it?s fight against crime, in that external theft at depots is now minimal and has seen a 90 per cent reduction.”
Petards Vision Limited – a subsidiary of Screen Plc – has made a short move – from unit 10 to unit 8 Windmill Business Village, Sunbury-on-Thames – yet the electronic security control system firm has more than tripled its office space. The new base incorporates a purpose built customer centre for product demonstrations. The move coincides with a name change from Petards International, reflecting the company?s focus on the surveillance and integrated video management market. Other companies in the Screen group are also being re-branded: Petards Mobile Intelligence (mobile data and in-vehicle video systems), Petards Civil Systems (IT solutions for the fire and emergency services), and Petards Corporate Knowledge (customer relation management software).
