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Surveillance cameras? Are they a deterrant?
Surveillance cameras are everywhere now. It doesn't seem as though people understand this little fact of life. Surveillance cameras video seems to show up on the news every night. Even with signs on the buildings saying surveillance cameras in use, the dummies still think they aren't going to get caught. It makes you wonder if people think they are invisible.
If you watch Criminal Minds or CSI-Vegas or a lot of other shows you can see them following suspects from one camera to the next. This is another thing people don't believe about surveillance cameras but it's also true. Big brother is here and the cameras are his main tool.
Remember when hardly any place had surveillance cameras and when they did catch something on film it was so dark and grainy identification was almost impossible? Now a good surveillance system can pick up a gray hair on a redhead in a heart beat. The camera technology has improved that much. With good systems the pictures are crystal clear and people are very easily identifiable. So why do the dummies still rob places with surveillance cameras?
That makes the question, "Do surveillance cameras really prevent crime?". With what we all see on the news it sure doesn't seem that way does it. Practically every business in the country now has cameras installed but they still get robbed or broken into. What are the surveillance cameras good for? What they seem to be best at is documenting the crime and identifying the people involved but they don't seem to do a lot in preventing crime at places of business.
Sure, the cameras help in getting a conviction but if you own a home you aren't interested in getting a conviction with some surveillance camera video. You want the cameras to prevent the crime to begin with. The bad news is unless someone is watching the surveillance monitors the crime will happen, be recorded and then the conviction will happen.
Unless monitored 100% of the time the video cameras don't prevent crime. They are a static device to tell you what happened but they don't prevent crime. Can you imagine the cost of paying someone to monitor the security camera at your house, 24/7? I can't. Yet without the monitoring you aren't secure.
What are the video surveillance cameras good for? We had a couple in the lower lever of our home to monitor what the boys were doing down there playing. Basically we used them to see who was telling the truth when fights started. The cameras weren't in their bedrooms or the nannies bedroom but in the big main room. No, we never caught the nanny doing anything wrong. We did learn that one boy had developed a sleeping problem and would get up and play for hours after everyone else was in bed. That was about all we expected of it.
I finally put one over the front entrance so I didn't have to walk from my office to the front door. If the door bell rang I'd look on my PC to see who it was and then answer the door or not. The X10 surveillance cameras I had worked well and the technology has come a long way since 1998. They work even better now days.
The system was very easy to set up as it was a wireless system but the cameras had to be plugged into an electrical outlet. I had little to no problems with the system at all. Used the way I used it the system performed exactly as I expected. It did exactly what the instructions said it would do. I'd have rather had battery operated cameras but they were way to expensive back then. Now they're a good option.
You've seen stories on TV where nannies or baby sitters were caught abusing kids, stealing, doing drugs, having their friends over and all sorts of other things. To me that's a good use of a video surveillance camera, but, believe it or not, this use is not legal in all states.
If you expect a surveillance camera to keep your home from being broken into, it might, if you put up warning signs, but I wouldn't expect it to be 100% effective. Surveillance cameras can be very helpful in solving crimes but they don't seem to do much to stop it.
I'm sure the Ramseys wish they'd have had surveillance cameras when JonBenet Ramsey was kidnapped. The criminals would have been caught much quicker and the Ramseys wouldn't have went through the hell they did. The cameras would certainly be good for that.
If I move to another house in the country I'll use surveillance cameras at every entrance and in every room to monitor the windows. I'd have them hooked up to a motion sensor, with an alarm on my computer, so I could tell in an instant what was happening. I'd also have a drive way alarm or even a security gate at my drive way.
If you want to use surveillance cameras be sure you know what your expectations are, what you expect them to do for you and how much you want to pay. If you get a DIY kit they are very easy to install, particularly the wireless cameras. However if you expect a surveillance camera to keep your house from being broken into you may end up very disappointed. Surveillance cameras have their place but don't expect them to work miracles. Always remember, the dummies don't seem to care if there are cameras or not, they keep on robbing convenience stores and their surveillance camera video keeps ending up on the news.
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