Physical security

Cameras, doors and alarms, designed around the problem and run like the IT systems they are

Security Medic designs the system, writes the specification and checks the work. A licensed installer builds it. The result is physical security that is documented, private by design and owned by the client.

What SMC does, and who does the rest

SMC assesses, designs, writes the specification and acts as owner's representative. SMC does not sell or install equipment and does not program panels. A licensed installer contracts directly with the client, and the client owns the equipment, the accounts and the footage. SMC takes no commissions from any vendor. How SMC works with installers.

What actually reduces risk

The evidence points to doors, lighting, verified alarms and account hygiene well before camera counts. A design starts there.

Plan for the empty house in daytime

Most residential burglaries happen in the daytime, when nobody is home. The back door, side windows and garage matter most. (Source: FBI 2024 data.)

Treat door, frame and strike as one system

Damaging or removing the door is the most common way in by force. A strong lock in a weak frame fails at the frame. (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.)

Secure the connected devices

Cameras and smart locks are computers. They need multi-factor sign-in and a network of their own, because account takeover and staff viewing of private video are the real harms. (Source: FTC v. Ring, 2023.)

Fix lighting first

Well-designed lighting has the strongest evidence: a randomized trial in New York City public housing found fewer night-time outdoor crimes. The setting was housing developments, so results elsewhere are likely, not proven. (Source: Chalfin et al., NYC lighting trial.)

Verify alarms

Alarms that are confirmed, with a camera view or a second signal, get taken more seriously by monitoring stations and police. SMC specifies verification and never promises faster response. (Source: ANSI/TMA verification standards.)

Why start with the problem

Alarm and camera companies sell products. Security Medic does not. It starts from what the client needs to protect and what could go wrong, then picks the design, and only then the equipment. SMC is vendor-neutral and takes no commissions, so the options it puts in front of a client are chosen for fit.

Every camera, recorder, door controller and panel is a computer on the network. SMC treats each one that way, and adds the privacy and governance layer that most installs never get.

What a design covers

Cameras and recording

Placement by purpose, privacy zones, audio off by default, encrypted storage, retention set by policy, and logged footage access.

Doors and access control

Who can open which door and when, credential types matched to risk, and a record of it. Fire and egress rules are met by the licensed installer.

Alarms and monitoring

Intrusion sensors, professional monitoring where the risk or the insurer calls for it, and a backup path when the network is down.

Lighting, hardening and barriers

Exterior lighting and site layout, door and frame hardening, and vehicle barriers. Rated barriers and sealed drawings come from licensed engineers.

The system as an IT asset

A separate network for security devices, named admin accounts with multi-factor sign-in, an asset list, firmware updates, and a federal Section 889 screen on every make.

Privacy and AI features

A written purpose for each camera and each analytics feature. Face recognition is off by default and is never used in New York schools.

Policies and records

Physical security, footage release, credential and key control, visitor and maintenance policies, ready for a board, insurer or auditor.

Ongoing program

Access reviews, system health checks, firmware status and policy upkeep, joined to the digital security program where there is one.

How an engagement runs

1. Free 30-minute call
A conversation about the site, the concern and the rules that apply, including the physical side: doors, cameras, alarms, accounts and footage.
2. Free assessment, gap report and free results review
The free security assessment, online, followed by a written gap report and a free review of the results. The physical questions are covered there and in the call.
3. Physical security assessment
A site walk by day and by night, a risk picture, the current state by area, a review of the devices and their accounts, and prioritized findings.
4. Design
The design pattern, a basis of design that states what the system must do, two or three vendor options, drawings or marked-up plans, the specification and the bid criteria.
5. Installation by a licensed partner
The client contracts the installer directly. SMC manages the project as owner’s representative: schedule, partner coordination, change control and progress reports. It reviews submittals and the work against the design, and runs the acceptance review.
6. Ongoing program
Scheduled reviews, tests and policy upkeep, so the system keeps working as people, rules and equipment change.

Project management, start to finish

SMC can also run the project end to end as the owner's representative, so the owner is not left to coordinate several trades alone.

Schedule

One plan that sequences the trades, so the electrician, locksmith and installer do not wait on each other.

Partner coordination

SMC is the single point of contact between the owner and the licensed partners.

Bids

Bid package, partner qualifications and licence checks, and a comparison on total cost and exit terms. The owner selects and contracts directly.

Change control

Every change to scope, cost or schedule is written down and approved by the owner before work proceeds.

Progress reporting

Short, regular reports in plain language: done, next, at risk.

Acceptance and handover

Tests against the specification, a punch list, and a clean handover of accounts, codes and documents to the owner.

Privacy and control defaults on every design

Audio recording is off by default. Recording conversations without consent is unlawful in New York, and a sign does not fix it.
Face recognition is off by default, and never used in New York schools.
Notices and signs are included where the law requires them, such as employee monitoring notices.
SMC never holds the system passwords, codes or admin logins, and never services the equipment. The owner holds them.

Built to New York State and local rules

Every design and project follows New York State law and the rules of the city, town or village: building and fire codes and exit (egress) requirements, local alarm permit and false-alarm ordinances, licensing of the installers SMC works with (NY General Business Law Article 6-D), and recording and notice laws.

SMC designs to these requirements and checks the work against them. Licensed partners pull permits where required. This is design practice, not legal advice, and SMC cannot guarantee that an authority will approve a permit or inspection.

Talk through the site

Describe what needs protecting and what has happened. The call is free and takes 30 minutes.

Book a free 30-minute call

Or write to support@securitymedic.com