AST Magazine January 2018 Digital-jan (1) | Page 17

Volume 19 January 2018 Edition It also means more control over operation, en- abling the lighting to react to the site’s current security status. Intelligent Lighting as a Psychological Deterrent The first step in any security program is DETER- RENCE. Avoiding intrusions in the first place is always the ideal outcome. When broken down into individual deterrence mechanisms, intelligent lighting combined with intrusion detection provides: 1. Basic Site or Perimeter Illumination – 1. Discourages would-be intruders while en- hancing the effectiveness of camera sur- veillance systems. 2. LED-based security lighting products dra- matically reduce electrical costs when compared to traditional security lighting. 3. In addition, the wide light spectrum of newer LED-based products provides a better Color Rendering Index (CRI) value that further improves camera surveillance. 2. Immediate and visible alarms – 1. Intelligent lighting can provide localized instant-on, intensity adjustment, or alarm strobe features, announcing to would-be intruders that they are detected and their location is known (and presumably being recorded by the site’s security cameras). 3. Detection at the perimeter means earlier triggering of alarms and the automatic selec- tion of camera views. 1. For immediate deterrence, the system could enable or strobe fence lights with- in the immediate area of an intrusion at- tempt. Would you like to advertise in our next digital magazine addition? Contact our lead Ad rep at [email protected] or call 646.450.6027 A site protected by a hybrid perimeter intrusion detection and intelligent lighting system Motion Sensing vs Intrusion Detection Motion sensors have been combined with secu- rity lighting for a long time. While inexpensive and perhaps of some use in residential settings, the inherently high nuisance alarm rate (NAR) makes the technology unsuit- able for most perimeter applications. Motion sensing simply cannot distinguish between real threats and innocent events like a passerby or animal, or vegetation movement caused by high winds. The resulting high NAR inevitably leads to com- placency and/or higher costs associated with the unnecessary deployment of security personnel. Vibration-based intrusion detection sensors on the other hand, provide a much higher level of security while minimizing nuisance alarms: 1. While motion sensors respond to any nearby movement, vibration-based intrusion detection sensors only respond to threats on the fence 17