When an alarm was activated at Corps Security‚Äôs Corps Monitoring Centre (CMC), the response by its operatives meant that an attempt to steal the St Columba‚Äôs School minibus was thwarted….
St Columba’s is a customer of Scottish Communications, an installer of CCTV and other security systems. Brian Davidson, Scottish Communications’ operations and sales director, says: “We have worked with Corps Security for a number of years and use the CMC to provide our customers with round the clock remote monitoring of CCTV installations.”
Last year, having already decided to upgrade its CCTV system, Alex Galbraith, estates and property manager at St Columba’s School, spotted one of Scottish Communications’ regular newsletters. Mr Galbraith contacted the company and arranged a site visit with Brian Davidson, to assess the School’s requirements. Located in Kilmacolm, a picturesque commuter village situated between Greenock and Paisley, the school was founded in 1897 and in 2008 was announced as The Sunday Times Top Scottish School. It comprises two main buildings and has over 730 pupils. Mr Galbraith says: “After carrying out an examination of the site we decided to install a new CCTV system in the junior school first and then roll it out into the senior school afterwards.”
Mr Galbraith adds: “We previously had 24 hour manned guarding on site but I had decided to look at alternatives to this arrangement. Brian explained the benefits of having a proactive CCTV system that could enable remote monitoring on a 24/7 basis. I was thoroughly impressed with the case that he made for using the CMC and we haven’t looked back since.”
Based near Glasgow, the CMC provides alarm receiving and CCTV monitoring services to a range of customers across many market sectors on an independent basis, or as part of an integrated service of manpower and technology. Eric Roberts, Corps Security‚Äôs CMC business development director, says: ‚ÄúThis £1.5m state-of-the-art facility exemplifies our commitment to innovation and forward thinking. Recently constructed, it is one of the most advanced CCTV monitoring facilities in the UK and incorporates the highest specification equipment that is constantly upgraded. We have also attained National Security Inspectorate (NSI) Gold accreditation to go with our existing BS 8418 and ISO 9001:2008 certifications.‚Äù
One night, intruders broke into the premises and attempted to steal the school’s minibus. After receiving an alarm notification the operatives at the CMC were able to immediately mobilise a physical visit to the premises, which prevented the vehicle from being stolen.
Scottish Communications’ Brian Davidson says: “This is precisely the kind of example that highlights why more of our customers are looking at using the CMC. The fact that site inspections can be prompted by an alarm activation and a guaranteed service is provided with no unnecessary staff call outs are major benefits of a third party remote monitoring service.”
Alex Galbraith of St Columba’s School, sums up: “I’m absolutely delighted with the decision to upgrade the CCTV system and would like to thank Brian and his team for their expert advice. If the minibus had been stolen it would have caused a huge amount of disruption and it is incredibly reassuring to know that the team at the CMC are watching over the School at all times of the day and night.”
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