Home Security Tips for CCTV Systems

More and more people are adopting CCTV systems to protect their homes. If you’re considering installing a security camera or a few of them, these tips can help you evaluate your needs and make the right choices for your home security needs.

Evaluate Your Needs

Why are you installing a CCTV system in your home? The answer – or answers – to that question will help you determine what kind of surveillance camera and recorder combination you need to buy, as well as where you’ll place each security camera in and around your home. Some of the reasons that people install CCTV systems include:

-          Identify people who come to the front door before you open it

-          View people approaching the house

-          Discourage thieves and vandals

-          Record footage for later viewing or to provide evidence in case of an event

-          Alert you if someone enters enclosed areas, such as the backyard or pool enclosure

-          Keep an eye on what’s going on at home while you’re away

-          Allow remote surveillance for a security company

Choose Security Camera Locations

Based on your needs evaluation, decide where you should place each CCTV camera to best accomplish your aims. Most home security experts recommend a security camera at the front door, placed at the right angle to capture the face of anyone at the door, as well as a security camera aimed at outdoor areas that are not easily viewable from windows. If you intend to do hidden surveillance inside your home, such as to monitor a nanny’s behavior with your children, choose a hidden location that has a clear view of the room. If your intent is to discourage thieves and vandals from bothering your property, mount an outdoor security camera in an obvious spot.

Decide Between Types of CCTV Systems

The two basic types of systems use either standalone DVRs or a PC as the recording device. Each has benefits and drawbacks, so think them through and choose the one that makes the most sense for your home. You can also choose between wired and wireless network systems, as well as choose the number of security camera devices you want to hook up to your recorder.

Choose the Best Security Camera for Your Needs

There are hundreds of choices for cameras that will work with CCTV systems. Do a little research to help you decide which is best for your home. You’ll have to decide between indoor and outdoor models, dome and bullet cameras and the technical details that will determine the resolution and quality of your footage.

CCTV Systems and Public Policy

The Boston Marathon bombings raised some mostly muted questions about an issue that isn’t discussed much in the U.S., though it’s much more upfront in European countries, notably in the UK: privacy issues and the use of private CCTV systems. The central role of private CCTV systems on a number of commercial establishments along the route played a central role in the identification of the  two bombing suspects, but raised a quiet controversy about the prevalence of CCTV camera surveillance by both public and private organizations and persons. It also made many people extremely aware – possibly for the first time – of the lack of public policy regarding the use of surveillance camera and CCTV systems. How much do you know about the laws regarding the use of CCTV surveillance in your place of business or your private home?

In the UK, there are uniform policies across the country regarding what is permitted by law and what is not. It’s been a major issue on that front for a number of years because of the proliferation of public surveillance camera systems. The UK is well-known for the prevalence of CCTV systems used by law enforcement across the country. It’s been estimated that there are few public spaces in the UK that are not overseen by the ever present, all-seeing eye of the CCTV camera.

That’s not surprising in a country where a Member of Parliament stated, on the record, that there are no legal restrictions on photography in a public place and no presumption of privacy for individuals in a public place. That may make it seem as if UK citizens are at the mercy of CCTV systems that view their activities from the moment they step through their front doors to the moment they return from their outings. In fact, where home CCTV systems are concerned, people have many more rights than they believe.

For example, it’s a widely held belief that it is illegal to situate a CCTV camera so that it records any part of another property or the public street outside their properties. In fact, this restriction applies to public policing CCTV systems. Homeowners are exempt from this ruling, as long as they are using a CCTV camera to protect their home from burglary. The ruling also takes into account the type of CCTV camera used by the system – as long as the CCTV systems contain fewer than three cameras and none of them can be moved, tilted, zoomed or otherwise remotely operated, the property owner doesn’t have to inform the police, nor even post signs warning about the surveillance.

In the U.S., in the meantime, the policies regarding the use of private CCTV systems vary from one jurisdiction to another. In some jurisdictions, it may not be lawful to place a surveillance camera to secretly record your employees’ activities, for example, and nearly every jurisdiction prohibits placing a security camera in a public venue, such as a retail store, where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy – the dressing rooms and rest rooms, for example.

If you are installing a CCTV camera in your commercial space or a surveillance camera that will record an area outside your home, do yourself a favor and check the laws regarding the installation of CCTV systems in your city, town and state.