Unmanned Stores Turned Playgrounds for Thieves, S-1 Aims for Zero Losses

An S-1 dispatch officer is explaining the intelligent CCTV notification feature to the owner of an unmanned store.

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Security company S-1 has strengthened its lineup of unmanned store products. This is to prevent the increasing crimes related to unmanned stores. They have introduced services ranging from solutions that small-scale self-employed business owners can adopt to services that handle damage compensation all at once.

On the 25th, S-1 announced that it will newly launch solutions to prevent crimes in unmanned stores. These include a "large unmanned store solution" to respond to property damage, assault, and homelessness; a "small unmanned store solution" to respond to cash theft and store occupation; and a "special insurance" that even compensates for cash damages.

Since COVID-19, the number of unmanned stores has increased, and the industry currently estimates the number of stores to be over 100,000. The problem is that crimes related to unmanned stores are also increasing. According to statistics from the National Police Agency, crimes in unmanned stores occurred 203 times in 2019, but by September last year, 1,604 cases had occurred, showing an increase of nearly eight times.

S-1 analyzed crimes in unmanned stores and released this solution. Analyzing incidents that occurred in large unmanned stores showed that property damage and assault were the most frequent accidents. There were also cases where runaway youths and homeless people used the stores as places to stay. Based on this analysis, S-1 applied artificial intelligence (AI) technology to intelligent CCTV to prevent damage accidents. The intelligent CCTV analyzes customers' movements and automatically detects and sounds an alarm if aggressive behavior occurs. To prevent assault incidents, a sound detection sensor that responds to screams is used. If a sound above a certain decibel level is detected inside the store, it is recognized as an emergency, and a signal is sent to the S-1 integrated control center. If necessary, security personnel are dispatched immediately. Also, if someone stays for a long time, the CCTV recognizes this and can conduct remote warning broadcasts inside the store to prevent homelessness.

For small unmanned stores, where theft of cash inside kiosks is most frequent, detectors are installed in kiosks so that if a theft attempt occurs, security personnel can immediately dispatch to prevent the crime. To prevent store occupation, Internet of Things (IoT) technology is utilized. Store owners can access the store’s CCTV via smartphone to monitor the store situation anytime and can remotely control lighting. Even if cash is stolen, financial compensation is supported. Applying S-1 special insurance allows compensation up to 10 million KRW. This enables a one-stop solution not only for crime prevention but also for recovery from crime damages.

An S-1 official said, "With the expansion of the unmanned store solution lineup, we can provide a one-stop service so that store owners can operate their stores without worrying about crime," and added, "We will analyze big data from the increasing unmanned store customers and develop specialized solutions by size, industry, and region."

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