Today, organizations of all sorts face increasing pressure to protect people and assets from firearm-related threats. Security operations centers (SOCs) are often tasked with monitoring dozens—sometimes hundreds—of security cameras to identify potential risks. Traditionally, hiring more guards has been the solution to increased surveillance demands. However, is this the most effective (or cost-efficient) approach when compared to modern AI assisted surveillance measures, like Omnilert Gun Detect? Which is the smarter safety decision—and, the smarter financial one?
The Cost Difference: Humans vs AI
The financial difference between human guards and AI-driven technology like Omnilert Gun Detect is significant. Relying on human staff for camera monitoring has substantial financial and operational limitations.
Hiring, training, and retaining security personnel is expensive, often exceeding $50,0001 per guard annually, with additional overtime costs during coverage gaps. Round-the-clock coverage across multiple shifts compounds these expenses. Staffing a single camera monitoring station, watching a dozen cameras, 24/7 with human guards can easily exceed $250,000 per year, including wages, benefits, and overtime.
In contrast, Omnilert Gun Detect offers:
- Continuous, real-time monitoring of hundreds of cameras simultaneously.
- Scalability without escalating costs, regardless of how many cameras are added.
- Significant long-term savings, with annual costs typically a fraction of maintaining an equivalent human monitoring team.
The result? Broader coverage and smarter spending, with measurable financial efficiency over time.
Accuracy and Missed Events
Beyond cost, human monitoring carries inherent performance limitations. People struggle to maintain focus while watching multiple camera feeds for extended periods. The effectiveness of human guards monitoring security cameras is inherently limited by attention fatigue, distractions, and cognitive overload. Research reveals some critical truths:
- A single guard can effectively monitor only 9-12 camera screens at a time.
- After just 20 minutes of continuous monitoring, a guard’s ability to detect activity on surveillance feeds can drop by up to 95%.
- Guards are often pulled away by additional tasks, further reducing their focus on camera feeds.
These limitations don’t just affect day-to-day operations—they introduce financial and safety risks from missed detections, delayed responses, and potential liability.
In contrast, Omnilert Gun Detect excels in large scale situations, where human monitoring alone struggles.
- No Fatigue or Distraction: AI operates tirelessly, maintaining peak focus across every camera feed.
- Instant Threat Detection: Firearms are identified the moment they appear on screen, triggering immediate response protocols.
- Consistent Accuracy: AI minimizes false positives and false negatives, ensuring security teams focus on verified threats.
Whether monitoring 10 cameras or 1,000, AI maintains the same unwavering vigilance and precision—qualities no human team can match.
Maximizing ROI: Proactive Security Pays Off
Return on investment (ROI) in security isn’t just about dollars saved—it’s about lives protected, risks mitigated, and operational efficiency enhanced. Omnilert Gun Detect offers a smarter, long-term investment compared to hiring additional guards. The annual cost of staffing multiple shifts, accounting for breaks, and potential turnover quickly adds up.
- Cost Efficiency: Fewer personnel required for camera monitoring, with scalable technology that avoids escalating costs as infrastructure grows.
- Resource Optimization: Security guards are freed from passive camera monitoring and can focus on high-value tasks, such as physical patrols and rapid threat response.
- Scalability: Omnilert can seamlessly scale across growing camera networks without requiring additional AI “staff.”
- Reduced Risk: Faster threat identification minimizes liability exposure and improves emergency outcomes.
AI doesn’t replace human guards—it enhances their effectiveness. By allowing personnel to focus on physical response and decision-making, Omnilert becomes a force multiplier, creating a cohesive, highly efficient security operation.
While human guards play an essential role in physical security and on-the-ground response, they are inherently limited by fatigue, distraction, and scalability challenges. These limitations come with significant financial costs, operational inefficiencies, and the risk of missed detections. Investing in proactive systems like Omnilert Gun Detect protects people, budgets, reputations, and long-term operational resilience. It represents an investment in smarter, scalable, and cost-effective security. Its ability to:
- Reduce personnel costs while increasing monitoring capacity
- Scale effortlessly across expanding camera networks
- Free up security guards for high-value tasks
...delivers tangible ROI year after year.
Omnilert Gun Detect doesn’t replace your team; it empowers them. In an era where every second counts, technology driven, proactive security isn’t just a smart financial decision—it’s a life-saving one.
Contact us today to learn more.