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Image Vault Digital Video Systems Render C-Store Crime "Less Convenient"

The Challenge
Since its inception in 1950, Warren Equities has enjoyed an unbroken record of profitability. Warren Equities, one of the largest privately owned companies in the United States, currently posts in excess of one billion dollars per year in sales, a testament to its visionary management team and business sense.

Under the banners of several divisions (including Kenyon Oil Company, Inc/XtraMart Convenience Stores) Warren Equities is familiar to consumers along the entire eastern seaboard from Maine to Virginia. From the company’s Connecticut headquarters, Kenyon/XtraMart manages over 300 convenience stores throughout New England, Maryland, Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Unfortunately, the "convenience" of XtraMart Convenience Stores often accommodates both the consumer and the criminal. For the consumer, convenience stores provide easy access to groceries, prepared foods, gasoline and other services. From the perspective of the criminal, these stores offer convenient access to money. Convenience stores, like other establishments that deal with merchandise and money, also offer the occasional temptation for employees to commit theft.

The Solution
XtraMart Convenience Stores’ proven success makes its confirmed choice of security surveillance products noteworthy. One of the company’s carefully chosen product suppliers is FireKing, of New Albany, Indiana FireKing, (formerly known as Fire King) is recognized for providing range of security solutions; from cash-handling safes to high-tech digital security products. The Image Vault digital solution was developed by FireKing as a digital plug-and-play replacement for the VCR system.

As XtraMart Convenience Stores began looking for a replacement for its older analog video recording systems (which used multiplexers and time-lapse recorders) one executive, Timothy Brunelle, Director of Loss Prevention at Kenyon/XtraMart, was key to the search. He stated, "The security concerns of a major retail chain vary from those of other retail industries, even from one store to another - under the same name."

As Mr. Brunelle explains, "Kenyon/XtraMart chose Image Vault as their representative digital video product because of it’s ease-of-use, adaptability, and storage capacity. Among it’s cost savings characteristics are the system’s versatile POS interface, flexible number of cameras and hard drive size - and the Image Vaults' plug-and-play feature allowed us to utilize cameras that we already had in place."

Currently, the Kenyon/XtraMart stores have an average of 12 cameras per location, all interfacing with Cash Register POS systems. Many retail establishments have cash registers that print receipts on compact serial printers. The data going to cash register receipts is typically referred to as point of sale (POS) data. Image Vault is able to read non-encrypted serial ASCII data from a variety of cash register models and other serial data devices such as the NKL Autobank, access control systems, ATMs, and even some alarm panels. One major problem with conventional VHS based surveillance systems is that POS data is overlaid onto the video, making it difficult to see and impossible to search. Image Vault solves this issue by receiving the data as data, keeping it in a cross-indexed database.

The Results
In reviewing the results of the Image Vault installation, Mr. Brunelle recounted a significant event regarding the capture on video of a pilfering employee. While researching an inventory shortage in one of the store locations, using the Image Vault POS interface he began reviewing video data for a particular shift that had lower than normal sales numbers. As Brunelle viewed the video, he actually saw the clerk under-ringing the sales. The clerk was "using a new method I hadn’t seen before to circumvent the cash receipt system," recalled Brunelle. "I caught it because it was obvious that the customer had items on the counter that were being paid for, yet the clerk was not ringing them up."

By using an unconventional method to open the cash drawer and collect the money, the clerk assumed the loss of revenue would go undetected. A simple review of Image Vault’s recorded video betrayed the actions of the clerk and provided Brunelle with sufficient evidence to involve law enforcement and file charges. As Brunelle explained, "the thing that sticks out in my mind about this incident is that my installer was right there completing the Image Vault installation when I caught the first incident – that’s right – right out-of-the box, I was able to solve a problem that had been previously elusive. I collected 2 weeks worth of evidence which I turned over to the police."

Mr. Brunelle added, "I have found it very convenient to have the POS interface journal/receipt tape scrolling while viewing the video – in the ‘old’ days I would have a journal tape unrolled by my feet and have to check off every sale hoping I didn’t lose track."

Another benefit described by Brunelle was the that the" Audit Trail that I can access with Image Vault, which is also very valuable to our managers and myself as I program the tracking to help identify or flag possible problem areas, the most common being No Sales, Cancels, Returns, and yes, the previously mentioned elusive method that I recently caught."

Kenyon/XtraMart initiated this project about two years ago and the systems designs and installations have been continuing. The installation process at each location for just the Image Vault unit took an average of one hour together with programming. This did not include the cameras and data line installations.

Brunelle states that one of the things he likes best about Image Vault digital recording is the fact that he can put up to 16 cameras into one store without losing images. "If I put that many cameras into a store using a multiplexer, I would definitely lose images," he explains. "It has been my experience that in order to properly view video, you need a minimum of 1 image-per-second per camera, yet if I multiplexed 12 cameras at a 72-hour speed, it could be as much as 6 seconds between images creating a greater risk of missing something important."

Timothy Brunelle continues, "The Image Vault systems have been a great help to our local Police Departments and State Police Departments. When we have a problem, we have a reputation of giving the police quality video to assist in their investigations." He went on to explain, "Because of our reputation for high quality evidentiary video, law enforcement also come to us when problems occur ‘in the area’ of our locations hoping to get some leads from our external cameras to assist them. It’s not uncommon for the police to call and ask us to ‘burn a couple of hours’ for them to review later."

"In fact, I am working on one now - a local police department had a stolen credit card incident and the card was used at our gas pumps as well as many other places," he stated. "The police knew they could count on me and our Image Vault system to provide them with good pictures of the person(s) using the card and their vehicle."

The Image Vault system makes it possible for store transactions to be observed remotely if necessary, as well as, recorded and archived for future review and distribution. This capability can be vital when following up on situations of credit card fraud, checks of insufficient funds or the presentation of false identification. Each Image Vault DVR is equipped with a CD-R drive and a "robbery button" to automatically download images in seconds to the drive. By the time the police arrive at the site of the incident, the download is complete and the CD available. In addition, these downloaded images are "range locked" on the hard drive and are preserved indefinitely rather than overwritten when the hard drive is full.

This means each store has a unit that continually stores data on the hard drive as well as onto a removable CD. The unit continues to store data on the hard drive even while the CD is removed or replaced. No information is ever lost and authenticated video is immediately available for law enforcement, management, etc.

Because Image Vault viewing software is automatically downloaded along with recorded data onto every disc, no special software is required for the disc to be opened by those investigating, copying or disbursing the data. Each CD is an exact, digital, unalterable, watermarked copy complete with the playback software. It can be viewed on any computer with a CD drive and images can be quickly printed or transmitted to aid in identification or apprehension of suspects.

About FireKing Security Group/Image Vault
FireKing Security Group has been committed to loss prevention since its beginning in 1951 as a manufacturer of high-quality FireKing® fireproof files. The five brands now marketed and sold under FireKing Security Group are: FireKing, NKL Cash Handling, Meilink Safes, Gary Safes, and Image Vault Digital Video Recorders. IMAGE VAULT, a multi-function digital recorder, was born from a customer’s frustration with videotapes. They wished for an affordable, sophisticated, yet simple product to replace their high maintenance analog time-lapse video recorders. Since 1996 IMAGE VAULT recorders have been proven in fast food and convenience stores nationwide where simplicity and durability are key factors. In the event of an incident the recorded images and playback software can be downloaded to a standard CD-R disk, on-site, simply with the push of one button.

About XtraMart Convenience Stores
Warren Equities is the holding company for eight separate entities marketing petroleum, grocery items and tobacco; operating retail gasoline and convenience stores and providing environmental services. The organization posts in excess of one billion dollars per year in sales and employs more than 2,100 people in eleven states. Kenyon Oil Company, Inc / XtraMart Convenience Stores in Connecticut manages over 300 stores. These stores can be found throughout New England, Maryland, Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania

For more information about this or other news contact Steve Aronson, V.P. Marketing.