Bank Robbing – A Dying Profession

Everyone has a favorite heist film, whether it‘s a traditional `shoot 'em up‘ like `Bonnie and Clyde‘, or something a bit more hi-tech, like “Ocean’s 11” they‘re compelling viewing. However, more often than not, the audience sympathies are with the thieves. Of course, in reality, bank robberies cause a lot of damage, stress and injury, let alone the financial losses – this also rings true for ATM robberies/attacks. Hikvision has all kinds of state-of-the-art technology to provide a full security solution for the banking industry, from the ATM in the street to the vault deep within the bank‘s walls.

It‘s not just in security where banks are exploring AI and the use of technology to gain an edge. According to the European Banking Federation, banks are projected to spend in excess of €62 billion on IT in 2017. There are a number of priorities for banks. The most obvious ones are securing customers, employees and assets, but there are also considerations like collecting reliable video clips for investigation, intelligence to help them make business decisions and streamlining processes to manage all of their branches effectively. In the end, like all business, they are also looking to increase customer satisfaction too. The development of AI and surveillance technology gives banks more flexibility than ever before to build an interesting future, and this has scope across the entire bank.

Before You Step In
The ATM is a place where theft, robbery and defrauding are high risks. They are in full view, mostly outside and have become a central part of our lives. Few people go inside a bank branch any more to withdraw money – we all go to the ATMs. Close shot, HD pinhole covert cameras can provide different views from dual lenses. Fisheye cameras can provide monitoring and smart behavior analysis, with IR giving good visibility, even in low or zero light environments. Data from these cameras can provide transaction data overlays, which can give evidence to settle any customer disputes.
But that‘s not all – smart technologies can see if a faced is `masked‘, for example, which could raise a red flag; cameras can provide alarms if something is stuck to the ATM screen or if someone tries to install a scanner. They can even tell if there are two faces in view – which could be an indication that someone is trying to steal a PIN.

The Front Door and Lobby
Banks need to be aware of who is coming in and going out – the starting point of monitoring. Clarity is important here, especially since the environment could lead to strong back lighting on a bright day when the light behind the person coming in is a lot stronger than the ambient light inside. This is where WDR-enabled cameras come in, with the technology rendering a crystal clear image even in this environment. Super WDR can reach up to 140db, making faces clearly visible.
It‘s also useful for banks to know the footfall numbers of people coming in to help with business decisions. A People Counting camera at the entrance takes care of that, with smart technology able to distinguish individuals, so they‘re only counted once, ensuring an accurate count. With a busy bank having large numbers of people through the doors every day, it could be useful to be able to identify them. Facial recognition technology can, of course, be used for security – to be able to identify blacklisted criminals, for example. But it can also be used to help with customer service. If a VIP client is identified coming through the door, for example, a certain manager could be alerted and staff trained to respond in certain ways to make the visit a smooth one.

At the Counter
The main day-to-day activities of the bank happen at the counters. Counter transactions need to be recorded clearly to solve any disputes. HD cameras can give 4K resolution, and Monovu dual lens cameras are specifically designed to provide good images where a bilateral close up is needed. When recordings are clear, both counter staff and customers are protected should anything be disputed. Of course, the cameras give close, detailed images available for general security too.

Security Deep in the Vault
In the depths of the inner bank lies the vault – usually the first priority for security in any bank. The vault needs constant surveillance and daily monitoring and because they are often in low light areas, ultra low-light cameras like Darkfighter are really useful to be able to monitor and record crystal clear images even in the dead of night. When the security around the vault needs to step up, there are facial recognition options too, delivered by a Hikvision Deepinview camera. If the camera is connected to an access control system, it could literally be that only people whose face is stored on the white list can enter. Often, access corridors and areas close to the vault will be covered by cameras too, giving a full overview if a person‘s movements need to be tracked through the building. VCAs can also be set up to alert operators if a person ventures beyond a certain point – useful to prevent non-authorized persons from entering more sensitive areas.
The place that few people see is the hub of all of the security activity. Feeds from all of the cameras can be managed, monitored and stored using custom-designed equipment in the Security Center Security centers can look like something out of NASA, with video walls giving operators direct access to whichever camera feed is of interest. Deepinmind NVRs store and help analyze the data and are powerful allies to the security staff. These centers can take the input from different branches too, streamlining security efforts and giving fuller visibility of the whole network. A large number of channels can be brought together using an iVMS software, like Hikcentral, to simplify security processes. Users can also access the surveillance data in different ways; via a laptop or mobile phone, for example. This makes the system very flexible and able to meet modern security demands.

Technology is Evolving with Banking
With banks evolving and offering more and more services to their customers, the security challenges are also changing. They need to be constantly aware of who is in their building and to monitor all activities – from the ATM outside through the main lobby and banking counters to the vault itself. And bringing all of this data together becomes more important too because it provides valuable information to help make business ­decisions. That‘s when surveillance starts to add a lot more value – helping to serve customers and to improve the experience they have when using the bank.
Of course, the likelihood of most of the famous heists in film history actually being pulled off becomes very slim in the face of the smart new technologies available to monitor and secure our banks. So those of us who want to root for the villains will have to make do with the movies.