Pro-Vigil, a provider of remote video monitoring, management and crime deterrence solutions, published its research report, “The State of Physical Security” for the second year in a row. It revealed that, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, companies continued to experience a rise in physical security incidents in 2021, with these incidents to grow in 2022. However, the majority have not made changes to their security strategies to mitigate these steadily escalating risks. 

To gain more insights about the impact of evolving physical security challenges amid the ongoing pandemic, Pro-Vigil polled 116 business operations leaders across a range of vertical industries, including construction, dealerships, retail and manufacturing, among others. Key findings from the survey include:

Incidents are Up While Security Strategies Lag

Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they saw an increase in physical security incidents in 2021, up from just 20 percent of respondents in 2020 (detailed in Pro-Vigil’s first research survey). Nearly 27 percent said they anticipate a continued rise in incidents in 2022. Yet, the majority (nearly 57 percent) said they have not updated their security strategies in the face of these growing threats.

Factors Fueling Security Incidents

Supply chain problems due to the pandemic — such as increased material costs and shortages, as well as delivery delays — topped the list of drivers for increased security incidents, with nearly 39 percent of respondents citing this as the primary factor. Respondents cited other pandemic-related factors like reduced business hours (nearly 23 percent) and security guard shortages (10 percent) as key reasons.  

Remote Video Monitoring Use is Up but ROI Opportunities are Being Lost

Businesses continued to adopt intelligent remote video monitoring (RVM), with nearly 40 percent of respondents stating they are using it instead of simple record and store video cameras. But a large number of respondents (43 percent) said they don’t use RVM for any other purpose beyond security surveillance — for example, to monitor employee performance, worksite conditions and customer traffic flow, or to identify marketing opportunities. 

Dealerships stood out among the respondent pool as an industry that is maximizing video camera usage and ROI. The overwhelming majority (96 percent) are using some form of video monitoring, and many are using the full capabilities of intelligent RVM to monitor worksite conditions, foot traffic and employee performance — with only about 23 percent of respondents stating they don’t use it for anything other than security monitoring.

To download Pro-Vigil’s research report, “The State of Physical Security Entering 2022,” please visit: https://pro-vigil.com/resources/2022-security-survey-report/.