Home Security and CCTV Cameras

Home security is something that will worry most people. We all hear about burglaries. violent crimes and cases of criminal damage. Many of us have burglar alarms and extra locks in place. Also we are advised that the alarm bell box can be a deterrent in it's own right. Of course we are probably talking about professional house breakers and opportunists thieves. Then there is the matter of malicious damage or personal attacks. Is the alarm bell box going to stop or avoid that situation? If it does great, if it doesn't not so good. In fact most domestic burglar alarms are designed to scare off the intruder. Either by making a lot of noise or by showing them you have some security.

There are two schools of thought here. The first better to stop a criminal before he acts. The visual warnings and the fear of the sirens will prevent them from attacking your property.
The second is (from the criminal point of view) What are they protecting in there? Big locks, Alarm and security signs, must be something worth stealing.
In fact there is some merit in both views. A gang of youngsters looking for a window to break my well choose the one with the alarm, where as a seasoned house breaker may well walk on by, looking for easier pickings.

The advantage of a CCTV system is that nobody wants to have their picture taken whilst breaking the law. They may well damage your property and make their escape, or break in and get away. If you have good clear footage of the culprit to show to the police, how much easier will it be to catch and prove a case against them. Another advantage is being able to know who is coming to your door, before they even ring the bell. Not only that but CCTV has become very, very inexpensive.

There are now systems the stream live footage to you smartphone or computer. Tiny cameras that are almost invisible, decoy cameras to deter would be criminals. Some of these cameras cost as little as £50 and can connected to your television or computer. The computer option allows you to use motion detection, timed recordings and live streaming. Low light cameras are now cheap and very effective, hidden cameras are affordable and big "look at me" decoy cameras are only a few pounds. You don't even need a specialist company to install them or set them up. It's a genuine DIY project (if you want it to be).

Many Security Companies offer installation and monitoring services for those with a bigger budget and higher levels of paranoia. So far it all sounds good, doesn't it? So here is the down side. You will have to display signs telling people you have cameras or that you are recording images. They can potentially request to see them under the freedom of information act. You could find yourself watching the monitor far more than is healthy. Lastly you could find total strangers waving to you as they pass the camera, most annoying.