*By DeJa Irving, Customer Service Representative, Tacoma*

Access control is not security! It may seem like a complete security system because you need a card or key fob to gain entry through an electronically locked door, but that’s where the similarity ends. Doors can be scheduled to lock and unlock at specific times, but that does not prevent all crime from being detected.

If an unwanted or uninvited person gain entrance to the building without using the door (as 38% of the suspects we help apprehend do), the access door is not going to send an alarm, silent or audible. And once someone is in, they can always get out: fire code won’t allow some one to be locked in. I don’t mean to devalue the concept of access control; it is a great tool when it is coupled or integrated with a security system. But please don’t be lulled into believing that controlling access on the entrance to the IT room, elevator, building, or parking lot takes the place of audio security or video surveillance.

Contact Sonitrol Pacific to learn more about the value of a verified security system with around the clock monitoring.

We love access control…but it is no substitute for an actual security system.