To protect up to thousands of Post Office stores from robbery, Kings Secure Technologies were awarded contracts with Post Office in 2011 for an intelligence-led service, called Grapevine. CSL Router was chosen by Kings as the connectivity platform used across many UK Post Offices; the aim, reducing the risk of loss at these sites. CSL Router is in use by 200 sites with plans to install the device in another 1200 over the next 18 months.
One of the challenges that Kings faced was the availability of broadband lines. Each Post Office has its own internet connection; however, they are used for payment terminals besides other functions and do not have the bandwidth to take CCTV images as well. To solve this, Kings introduced CSL Router to provide a dedicated, encrypted, 4G connection to send the CCTV images from the Post Office to Grapevine. This enabled the installation of IP, pinhole and external cameras from Axis Communications, connected to CSL Router. When activated, a button which sits behind the counter of a Post Office sends live images to Grapevine. The Post Office says this reassures postmasters that help is available 24/7, should an incident occur.
Post Office have noted a significant drop in incidents since the IP cameras and routers have been installed. They point to a 36 per cent reduction in injuries to postmasters and their customers over the last three years, as a result of this project.
Mark Dinsdale, Physical Security Manager, Post Office, says: “As an organisation, we are always on the lookout for new technologies to make it safer for post masters and customers.”
And Paul Ottley, Account Director, Kings Secure Technologies says: “Kings and CSL have worked together for many years and have built a strong understanding of delivering high quality, reliable solutions.”
