Questions To Ask Before Installing CCTV Cameras
Can CCTV Cameras prevent crime?
CCTV prevent ‘opportunistic’ crime, where people take advantage of a situation at the spur of the moment.
It seems to have the biggest deterrent effect in pre-planned crime, so a visible CCTV camera can also prevent your house from being specially targeted, helping keep your belongings secure and increasing the safety of your family.
Research has also shown that it helps police identify and catch offenders, so it could help catch whoever is behind a series of crimes, inclusive of vandalism or anti-social behaviour.
To make the most of your CCTV, clearly advertise its presence on your property to ensure that unwanted guests stay away.
How to choose a suitable CCTV camera for your needs?
Depending on the situation you will need to select a security camera that will best capture the scene.
Here’s where you need to “think like a criminal” and ask yourself what you would do and where you would go if you were trying to rob your house. What areas would you consider?
Do you need the camera with the intention to see a vehicle outside the front driveway gate or a pedestrian ringing the bell?
Determining where to place your first camera will largely depend on the topography of your home or business property and your security needs. For example, near a back wall that runs parallel to an alley or at the darkest side of your own home.
Ideally, covering the whole perimeter of the property with CCTV cameras will provide the security of an early warning system. Generally, the first camera is installed in a position near the front door or gate. This placement is perfect to gather information about people or vehicles entering or leaving, followed by additional cameras to cover “vulnerable spots”.
How many days/weeks of recording can I store?
The best way to understand it is to realize that these days most CCTV camera systems record straight onto a hard drive.
This hard drive may be based at your home or it can be primarily based on a server someplace else or even in the cloud. On average ( all of it depends upon the exact system and circumstance), you’ll usually have about a month’s well worth of recordings in case you are using it in a home setting and are recording to your own hard drive.
In case you are recording it an offsite server or to the cloud, then it really depends upon the storage you have. From our experience, that is often about a week however some may allow you to have up to about a month’s worth of footage stored.
Do CCTV cameras work during a power cut?
The thing is, security cameras need connection (power supply) whether battery or electricity; any one of those. So, when power cuts happen, make sure that you have installed a UPS to ensure the continued monitoring of your cameras.
Contact us now for CCTV installations.