Fewer false alarms reduce costs and improve security.

A large shopping centre in Stockholm, Sweden, was having issues with an increased number of attempted burglaries by people climbing up its façade and entering the roof, as well as false alarms being triggered by animals such as insects and birds moving in the protected area. Staff have also accidently triggered alarms. False alarms have resulted in many unnecessary – and very costly – call-outs. The shopping centre wanted to stop unauthorised intruders as well as reduce the number of false alarms. It was also important for the shopping centre to ensure a safe and secure shopping experience for its visitors.

Intruders entering from the façade have largely disappeared and the number of false alarms has fallen dramatically. The shopping centre has saved hundreds of thousands of Swedish crowns per year on call-out costs alone from security companies. Furthermore, the team utilising the system has expressed how effective the radar technology has been at delivering the desired results.

The shopping centre wanted to improve the protection of the building, its assets, its employees and its customers. The unwelcome façade climbers and false alarms meant that the shopping centre needed the means to detect events vertically along the façade. At the same time, the shopping centre did not want an alarm to be triggered when people walked past the building on the pavement and the street. The shopping centre was protective of its brand; it wanted to be perceived as a safe and secure environment, without disruptions and intruders.

In contrast to a camera that measures pixels in an image, the radar physically measures the actual object in the area under surveillance. Radar can measure the exact position as well as the velocity and direction of the object, compared to video analysis that measures this via the image from a camera.

Other advantages of radar for façade surveillance include the possibility of specifying alarm limits at a certain height above street level. A limit of three metres above ground level, for example, means that people can move freely below the alarm limit, passing by as usual at ground level without triggering the alarm. It is also difficult to tamper with a radar solution compared with cameras, which can be manipulated and disrupted by intruders to prevent monitoring.

Like other technologies from Axis, the radar detector is based on an open platform and easy to integrate with a customer’s existing IT systems.

“AXIS D2050-VE is easy to install, scalable and futureproof. It is easy and safe to work with other Axis products; they are sound, stable, and reliable, as well as cost-effective, and they maintain very high quality,” says Fredrik Westin. “We are also highly appreciative of the continuous support and dialogue we have with the Axis team.”

The shopping centre is delighted that unauthorised intruders and the number of false alarms are now largely non-existent. The savings amount to hundreds of thousands of kronor per year just from reduced costs for calling out security personnel.

“Businesses can save a lot of money by reducing false alarms and unnecessary call-outs. Ensuring ongoing service and maintenance can also result in major savings. We noticed that more and more companies are demanding secure operation and secure surveillance as a service, where we guarantee continued operation,” says Fredrik Westin.

“We’ve also identified that customers want reliable support over a longer period of time. In general, they have a longer-term perspective than they previously had,” says Carl Staël von Holstein.