Tailgating
Tailgating is when more people enter or exit through a controlled door than those who were authorized to do so. It often happens when someone follows closely behind an authorized user after a valid unlock, slipping in without presenting credentials. Sometimes, tailgating is intentional, but it can also happen accidentally when users hold the door open for others.
How tailgating detection works
In Kisi, tailgating detection uses integrated cameras with built-in AI analytics to track how many people cross the doorway after each unlock. The camera continuously monitors the entrance, recognizes movement, and determines whether people are entering or leaving.
When the system sees that more people have crossed in than were authorized by unlocks (accounting for exits) during a short time window, Kisi identifies the event as tailgating. If one person enters and another leaves, it isn’t considered tailgating, since both directions are accounted for separately.
The result is a Tailgating incident in your incidents dashboard that links the door unlock, the detected line crossings, and the video clip showing exactly what happened. When multiple people tailgate after a single unlock, one incident report is created with all occurrences listed under Occurrences, each with its own photo evidence.
When tailgating incidents occur
Tailgating incidents are created when more people enter through a door than were authorized during a short monitoring window. Common scenarios include:
- Single unlock, multiple entries: One person unlocks the door but several people enter together
- Group unlocks with excess entries: Multiple people unlock within 10 seconds, but more people enter than there were unlocks
- Exits don't authorize entries: Someone exiting doesn't reset monitoring or authorize incoming users, so entries after exits still create incidents
Incidents are not created when each person has their own unlock, when group unlocks match the number of entries, or during scheduled access periods.
For comprehensive scenario details, see tailgating cases.
How it works in Kisi
- A door unlocks through a valid credential, remote command, or schedule
- A short monitoring window begins for the door
- The connected camera tracks people crossing the doorway line and their direction
- If more people cross in the same direction than there were unlocks, a Tailgating incident is created (see tailgating cases)
- Kisi attributes the Tailgating incident to the user who unlocked the door (or marks it anonymous for request-to-exit scenarios)
- The incident appears in both Event history and the Incidents tab with a video preview and links to the original unlock
While tailgating detection happens in near real-time, incidents appear in Kisi an average of 6-15 minutes after the event due to processing time on the camera provider's side to analyze and send camera data.
Supported systems
Tailgating detection in Kisi is powered by integrations with intelligent video platforms. These systems provide the AI-based person detection and line-crossing capabilities required to identify multiple entries through a single unlock event.