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March 30, 2001, Chicago, IL – What was once reserved for governmental agencies and Fortune 100 firms, access control and closed circuit TV systems are now becoming the norm for Chicagoland office buildings, condominium complexes and single family homes.

As with many aspects of technology, the quality of these systems continue to improve, in addition to dropping costs making high tech security more affordable to everyone. Glavin Security Specialists, one of the leading locksmith and security companies in the Chicagoland area, is seeing a trend by both small and medium-sized businesses, as well as homeowners, to go the high tech route.

"Local companies and residential buildings are seeing an increased need for tighter security," notes Tom Glavin, owner of Glavin Security Specialists. "Crime is going up and it’s often an internal problem caused by former and even current employees or residents, not always an outside job. We’re getting inundated with requests for fully implemented systems (security cameras and card access) more than ever before."

The technology associated with the camcorder has been a great boom for the closed circuit TV (CCTV) industry. Cameras have become smaller and smaller while at the same time images are becoming crisper, offering higher quality surveillance.

Just as with other technologies, the trend is going from analog towards digital recorders and processors, offering a better quality picture to the consumer. More affordable but still a capital investment, cameras and monitoring systems decrease the labor costs for security personnel while acting as a deterrent to the would be thief.

Around for more than 50 years, electronic access control has become more mainstream since the advent of the PC, making systems more reasonably priced and user friendly.

Referred to as keyless entry systems, the systems save customers the time, hassle and expense of re-keying when keys are lost or stolen. Many card systems have gone from mag stripes to proximity systems, making it more convenient to the end user. More and more, customers are using these systems to establish audit trails to keep track of who is going in what door and when, or even allowing access for certain card holders to specific times of the day. These systems offer a lot of flexibility.

Superior St. is Chicago’s largest rehearsal facility for local bands as well as national touring acts such as R. Kelly. With more than 75,000 square feet of space, nearly 100 rehearsal rooms, a state-of-the-art Showcase Room and hundreds of thousands of dollars of stored music equipment, security becomes one of the most important selling points for the facility.

"We have more than 500 tenants at a time," notes Karen Schoenfeld, senior vice president of Superior Street. "Working with bands where musicians quit or are fired on a daily basis, in addition to being 24 hour access, camera systems and electronic access control have become a necessity for our success."

In 1999, Glavin Security Specialists installed high resolution, tamper resistant cameras for Superior Street. Schoenfeld says the camera systems have assisted in past incidents and act as a deterrent more often than not. An electronic access control system was also installed in 1999.

"The high level of turnaround in our facility makes keys a costly and less secure option," says Schoenfeld. "In addition, the software allows us to run audits of who’s been where and when."

"Reality dictates we all need to be more aware of living and working in a secure environment," says Tom Glavin. "The advances in technology have certainly changed our industry, and will hopefully make Chicago a safer place to live and work."

Glavin Security Specialists is one of Chicago’s leading security and locksmith companies in the Chicagoland area. Family owned and operated since 1953, their customers include Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the John Hancock Center, LaSalle Bank and the Daley Center, just to name a few. For further information on their company and services, please call (312) 850-6700 or visit their website at www.glavinlock.com. Glavin Security Specialists is located at 1010 W. Jackson Blvd. in Chicago.