Securitas UK

About Securitas UK

Securitas is one of the largest providers of security services in the world. With a presence in markets across the globe, Securitas successfully integrates technology, people and knowledge to offer protective services to customers in a variety of industries and customer segments.

Securitas UK is responsible for the monitoring of tens of thousands of system signals every day. Their state-of-the-art Securitas Operations Centre (SOC) was the UK's first centre to receive European accreditation and boasts the industry leading NSI Gold Standard. Featuring an alarm centre, Remote Video Solutions (RVS), remote access control and operations support, the SOC is at the heart of its customers’ security needs. 

False alarms are a daily challenge

For anyone offering remote CCTV monitoring services, high volumes of false alarms is a daily challenge that can have a direct impact on the overall security of a site. Every alarm receiving centre wants to ensure that their operators receive the highest possible percentage of genuine alarms; classified as ‘a person or moving vehicle on site’. Securitas UK is no different.  

The Securitas Operations Centre is responsible for the remote monitoring of a large customer base, and as a result receives a significant number of false activations from customer sites every day. With a commitment to delivering the highest levels of security, the SOC team must give its constant attention to the health and efficiency of its CCTV systems and has been open to implementing new solutions to enhance this service.  

Implementing a viable, long-term solution

Securitas UK had been using Immix central monitoring software for a number of years, and wanted to find a viable solution to address the false alarm issue that would work hand-in-hand with Immix CS. They first engaged with Calipsa in 2018 and while they had looked at other solutions previously, they saw that Calipsa’s False Alarm Filtering technology could make their remote monitoring process and ongoing management easier in two ways.

Firstly, Calipsa’s algorithm is able to reduce the number of alarms that are received, increasing the probability that operators will be presented with genuine activity to review. Secondly, the quality and availability of information from the Calipsa dashboard allows the SOC team to easily review individual cameras that might have problems so they can be rectified as part of a health check.  

Securitas UK found that they were able to quickly establish a positive level of trust and openness with Calipsa that made entering into a supplier partnership a viable option. The effectiveness of the solution was further enhanced by the one-click integration of Calipsa into Immix CS, which allows Securitas UK to apply false alarm reduction and advanced analytics to cameras on a site in one click.

New suppliers try to get on board with Securitas UK all the time, however I won’t enter into a partnership that doesn’t have long-term potential or support Securitas’ core values. With Calipsa and Immix, I believe we are working with a game changing solution that will allow us to deliver the highest possible level of security for our clients.

OMAR ABU-RISH
Securitas Operations Centre Manager

A game changer for the industry

Securitas UK has seen significant results in the first stages of the partnership, including great improvements in the accuracy of Calipsa’s False Alarm Filtering. After half a year of testing, Calipsa are now achieving an average of 89.8% alarm reduction, ensuring the majority of alarms received by the SOC contain genuine human or vehicle-based activity. 

The alarm reduction rate is now a critical part of Securitas UK’s operational plans and enables them to further maximise the efficiency of their operations centre. The integration of Calipsa into Immix has enabled that to happen in the simplest, fastest and most seamless way possible. Using Calipsa via Immix will allow Securitas to apply the technology to hundreds of sites within an instance and focus their resources on the most critical events.

Since implementing the technology, Securitas UK have also seen increased staff satisfaction from SOC operators. From a staff welfare and development perspective, using Calipsa and Immix will allow Securitas UK employees to increase the value they bring to the organisation by taking them away from handling false alarms and focusing their skills and expertise on genuine alarms.

Securitas UK have been a key partner in testing and developing the Calipsa and Immix CS integration for the benefit of the industry. It is fantastic to see a number of other Securitas countries following with interest in what the UK is leading and the success they have seen in the initial phase.

TARA BIGLARI
Business Development Manager, Calipsa

Securitas UK believes the integration allows its SOC to be as efficient in its operations as possible, increasing its ability to take on new customers and business without the challenge of scaling operational teams. For the wider remote monitoring industry, it hopes to see the point where the accuracy level will be so high that almost every alarm presented to an operator will be genuine.