Workplace violence prevention that acts before a threat reaches anyone.

Questions buyers ask us

FAQ

What's the realistic window for de-escalating before an encounter turns physical?

Workplace-violence research from Crisis Prevention Institute and ASIS International typically frames the de-escalation window at 30 to 90 seconds once aggression cues spike. Camera analytics will not predict who is going to throw a punch. It puts a trained human inside that window with enough context to step in. The same logic applies to a customer-on-employee or employee-on-employee dispute.

How accurate is camera-based weapon detection in a real building?

Vendor specs typically cite high-90s percent accuracy at sub-second latency on tuned cameras. Real installs run lower at first and improve as zone masks, lighting variance, and camera angle get calibrated on site. Plan for tuning before any alert routes to a phone or radio. Pair visual detection with acoustic gunshot so a single false positive does not burn the lockdown automation. The consultation walks each camera before it goes live.

What kinds of weapon-detection overlays does Tec-Tel install?

We integrate weapon-detection overlays from multiple manufacturers and pair them with the customer's existing camera fleet. Some overlays run human-in-the-loop with a 24/7 review center; others run on-edge inference; and some major camera platforms ship native weapon classes inside newer cameras. The choice depends on existing camera generation, IT capacity, and how the safety committee wants the alert to land. The consultation names the fit.

How do you handle the legal exposure around behavioral monitoring?

Aggression and weapon detection runs on classification, not identity. The system flags "person with raised arm and prolonged shout pattern" rather than a named individual. Most operator-side legal reviews treat that as different from facial recognition. Illinois facilities get extra scrutiny under BIPA, even when face geometry is not touched. Tec-Tel documents the data flow during deployment so HR, legal, and any union representatives can review before go-live.

Can a single alert trigger an automated lockdown?

Only with a two-source confirmation rule. Active-shooter automation should fire on weapon-on-camera plus acoustic gunshot, or weapon-on-camera plus a manual button push from the SOC. False-positive lockdowns are operationally expensive and erode trust the first time the cafeteria gets locked over a stage prop. Each automation rule gets walked through the customer's risk team during the consultation, written down, and reviewed quarterly.

Where do alerts go at 3 AM when there is no one in the SOC?

Routing follows the customer's coverage model. Sites with their own 24/7 SOC route to whoever is on shift via PagerDuty or Slack. Sites without a SOC route to a third-party central station pre-briefed on the response protocol. Tec-Tel monitoring partners run documented response SLAs at the central-station tier. The consultation names which model fits each location and writes the on-call protocol so it is not invented during a real event.

What does this cost?

Weapon-detection overlays typically price per camera per month, in the $30 to $100 range, depending on detection breadth and whether the vendor includes a human-in-the-loop review center. A 50-camera campus deploying a single overlay lands around $1,500 to $5,000 per month. Mass-notification platforms are usually per recipient per year, $2 to $8, with a $3,000 floor. The consultation produces a side-by-side so the customer can pick the model that fits.