CCTV stops Wimborne thieves: Dorset garage sees instant crime reduction following CCTV upgrade

March 30, 2010 - PRLog -- Dorset CCTV installers Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s recent upgrade of a petrol forecourt’s CCTV system has already proved its worth. Tice of Wimborne is a Dorset-based family business comprising a garage, petrol station and convenience store.  The rising price of fuel has plagued the business with a rapid increase in the number of ‘drive-offs’ – motorists who fill up, but then drive away without paying. In January this year, Chris Lewis Fire & Security upgraded the sites' CCTV system and within a week, one of the culprits was caught.

Chris Lewis Fire & Security has a long established relationship with the garage’s owner, Malcolm Tice. Its Bournemouth branch has been responsible for the maintenance of his fire and security systems at the garage and his home for the past seven years. Mr Tice approached the company to upgrade his CCTV system in order to improve the resolution of the footage so that he could capture clear images of the drive-off culprits and their vehicle registrations.

Malcolm Tice commented, “We’ve been experiencing two or three drive-offs a month and each one costs us about £60. We suspected that we were being targeted by certain individuals, but the images captured by our existing CCTV system weren’t always high enough quality to read the vehicle number plates.”

Chris Lewis Fire & Security upgraded the CCTV hard disk recorder to increase the frame rate and quality of CCTV footage. Its engineers also repositioned two of the cameras on the petrol forecourt to ensure adequate coverage of the pumps, the kiosk and the entrance and exit routes.

Malcolm Tice added, “This CCTV upgrade has been a very worthwhile investment. Not only has it given me peace of mind, but within a week we caught a repeat offender who has since been made to pay back the money for the petrol he stole. The police have commented that we’ve now got one the best CCTV systems in Wimborne, and they have also used footage from our surveillance cameras to help investigate a fatal accident that occurred in the area.”

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About Chris Lewis Fire & Security

Chris Lewis Fire & Security is a leader in innovative fire, security and CCTV systems. With branches in Oxford, Southampton, Bournemouth and London, they are recognised as the number one provider of access control installations for domestic and commercial premises across Dorset and the South of England.

The guiding principles on which Chris Lewis Fire & Security is founded are to deliver CCTV systems that are unique to each customer’s specific requirements, and to exceed customers' expectations in terms of standards of workmanship and quality of service.