Stockholm Stadsmuseum resides in one of the city's ancient buildings from the 1600s. The white stone building by Södermalmstorg looks out over Strömmen towards Skeppsholmen and Kastellholmen. During the course of the years, a number of widely differing businesses have been run on the premises. The building has among other things functioned as a prison, anatomical theatre, hotels, laundry and a town hall cellar.

Openness
The central position of the museum in the middle of Stockholm by the important Slussen junction and a large flow-through of people nearby create a position of vulnerability. At the same time, the very idea of exhibitions is that the building is kept open to the public so that everyone will be able to see the historic cultural values exhibited. The museum has 120 000 visitors a year. The combination of openness and goods that are liable to be stolen sets requirements for a flexible security system with multiple functions.

Video surveillance
In order to protect the collections, the Stadsmuseum has chosen the Bewator 2010 integrated security system with alarm, access control and video surveillance. The cameras are installed both with the aim of being a deterrent and to allow the possibility of identifying culprits in the event of theft. A total of 14 cameras are strategically positioned by all exits so that nobody will be able to leave the building without being filmed. On the other hand, not all of the halls containing these objects are monitored by cameras, in spite of the value of the collections being estimated at several millions of SEK.
"We've chosen the positioning of the cameras with consideration for the integrity of the visitors. People should be able to wonder around in the museum and look at the exhibitions without being filmed," says Maths Eggeby, security chief at the Stadsmuseum.

Alarmed objects
In the exhibition premises, the majority of the objects are protected by an alarm. Maths Eggeby comments on the importance of protecting the objects, bearing in mind that there are many collectors who are not inclined to pay substantial amounts of money to become the owners of desirable objects.
"Nowadays, there is a completely different market for stolen objects from before. This is shown by the major theft of antique books from the Royal Library in Copenhagen, for example, or the letters from Greta Garbo recently stolen from the Military Record Office.

Flexible system
The Bewator 2010 was chosen because the system best satisfied the requirements that had been set up.
"Museum operations do not fit into the normal nine to five office hours. Before a new exhibition, the personnel may need to work late. It is easy to reset the alarm in the Bewator 2010 on occasions when evening work or other pre-booked activities take place.
"Another requirement was to easily be able to open the alarmed cases, and then the system is flexible. You can temporarily turn off the alarm via a card reader without pressing extra control panels or computer alarms.

Leasing its security solution
Owing to difficulties with applying for special funds for investments, the Stadsmuseum has chosen a leasing variant where the whole security system with installation will be paid off in five years. This also includes a servicing agreement with responsible security installer Svensk Larmassistans, who are responsible for night-time monitoring.
Maths Eggeby notes that the museum now has better control over its security system. This means that he avoids discussions with monitoring companies and alarm installers regarding whose fault it is if something has not functioned. The Bewator 2010 is also stable so it now prevents false alarms and unnecessary callouts.
"The cost is within the operating budget and the fact is that during the first year I've already had a lower level of servicing and callouts. This means a lower overall annual cost. Not only that, it has been difficult to apply for funds for this type of investment from the local authority."

Rounds
The security plan also includes the fact that the technical equipment is supplemented with more rounds.
"Even if the museum has been forced to make personnel reductions, the daily rounds are still managed by its own personnel. We've also considered bringing in watchmen to achieve more of a deterrent effect. So far, we've chosen not to, though, because this may cause negative feelings for the museum's visitors."
The installation was carried out by Larmassistans Teknik Sverige AB.