Live Monitoring for Existing Security Cameras
Already have cameras? We can monitor them live. Monitoring for your existing security cameras connects the system you already own to our 24/7 live video monitoring, so trained, licensed operators watch your property and step in while something is happening. No rip-and-replace.
Secure Defence has protected properties since 2015. Live video monitoring is what we do. Our operators work from our own command centre in Richmond, BC, and they watch your cameras live, check every alert and act right away. We're the Fastest Growing Security Company in Canada, the highest-ranked security company on both The Globe and Mail and BIV growth lists for 2025 and 2026. We have 500+ customers and 1,000+ sites live monitored across Western Canada. Metro Vancouver is our home market, and our two biggest areas of work are strata and property management and construction.
Cameras that record aren't cameras that protect
Most camera systems do one thing well: they record. The trouble is that nobody's watching. You find out about the break-in the next morning, scroll through hours of footage and hand a grainy clip to police. The damage is already done.
You've already paid for the cameras. Live monitoring makes them work while it matters. When someone climbs your fence or tries a parkade door at 3 AM, an operator sees it, speaks to them over a speaker and calls police if they don't leave.
How we take over your system
- 1. Assessment. We look at your cameras, recorder and internet during a free site assessment, and send a quote in 24 to 48 hours.
- 2. Connect. We connect your system to our command centre. Existing cameras connect the same day.
- 3. AI rules. We set up AI detection zones and schedules for your property, such as the parkade gate after 10 PM or the loading dock on weekends.
- 4. Live monitoring. Our operators start watching, with your call list and instructions in hand.
Which cameras and recorders work
Most modern IP cameras and recorders can connect to our command centre. During the assessment we check each camera and tell you what works as it is.
Where coverage falls short, we tell you plainly. A camera may point the wrong way, be too low-resolution to see a face, or leave a blind spot at a door. We'll suggest the smallest change that fixes it, such as moving a camera, adding one or two, or adding a speaker for talk-down.
What you get
- AI detection that flags people and vehicles in the zones and hours you set. Our false alert filters ignore weather, animals and headlights.
- Operator verification. A person checks every alert on live video, so you get zero false alarms.
- Voice-down, siren and strobes. Add a speaker and operators can warn people off in real time. See audio and visual deterrents.
- Verified Police Response. If a crime is confirmed, a supervisor calls police and stays on the line. Our verified response takes about one minute.
- Cloud access. You can still view your cameras from your phone or computer.
- Incident reports with operator notes and HD video.
- System health checks. Our system health check spots cameras that go offline, so a problem gets fixed before it leaves a gap.
Compared with on-site guards, live monitoring can save up to 70%.
See the technology: smart AI detection, false alert filters and system health check.
Who's watching your cameras
Your cameras are watched by our own team, not a call centre somewhere else. Every operator is trained and licensed, and our command centre in Richmond is self-owned and never outsourced. Each site has its own instructions: who's allowed in and when, who to call and what to do for each kind of event.
Monitors watch the video walls and handle alerts for their sites. Scanners walk the walls looking for trouble before any alert fires. Supervisors review incidents, call emergency services and let you know what happened. You can call the operator watching your property at any time.
What is VSaaS?
VSaaS stands for video surveillance as a service. It's an industry term for camera systems that are run and stored in the cloud as a monthly service, instead of a recorder you manage yourself. Many VSaaS products only store and show video. Ours adds the part that stops crime: trained people watching live and responding. If you came here looking for VSaaS, what you probably want is live video monitoring on the cameras you already have. You can also read about cloud-based security benefits.
Best fit
- Strata and rental apartment buildings. Parkades, lobbies, mailrooms and bike rooms. See our Vancouver strata live video monitoring and common area monitoring pages.
- Malls and strip malls. Parking lots, loading areas and back lanes after closing. See retail and mall security and our shopping centre security page.
- Warehouses and distribution centres. Yards, docks and fence lines. See warehouse security.
- Office and industrial properties. See commercial and industrial.
- Construction sites with cameras already in place. See construction site security.
Why clients choose Secure Defence
- 98%+ overall crime reduction for our clients.
- 11 years in business, award-winning.
- 1,000+ sites live monitored across Western Canada.
- Insurance-approved command centre, self-owned and never outsourced.
"The single biggest benefit we've experienced since partnering with Secure Defence is that I trust our site is secure and I don't have to worry about someone breaking in." Steve Rosa, Senior Superintendent
Book your free site assessment
Tell us about your cameras, and we'll show you how to put them to work.