Home and office security becomes a bigger and bigger issue every year. Personal security has become an issue not only for the wealthy, but for upper-middle class families and medium-to-small businesses as well.
Security cameras have been shown to be an effective deterrent to crime, helping to keep people honest. In addition to their deterrent value, video surveillance systems also provide valuable information to police for the capture and prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes. In many cases, it is the recording of video surveillance cameras that provides the first lead toward eventual incarceration of perpetrators of many crimes.
When setting up a home or office security system, the ideal camera setup, including how many cameras should be used, depends on the characteristics of the area being surveilled, the type of assets being protected, and the type of security camera being used. Generally, having multiple, overlapping security cameras is best in terms of surveillance effectiveness, although this also increases the cost of the overall system.
Designing an Effective Video Security System
For a video security system to be effective, it needs to provide usable evidence of the crime being committed. This requires careful placement of the cameras in order to ensure that all perpetrators are captured on video. There are a number of key locations where cameras should be installed to ensure the provision of adequate evidence.
Entry and Egress Points
The most obvious and common place to install security cameras is in entry and egress points. Pretty much everyone who comes into the home or office must pass these points, providing an excellent opportunity to capture them on video. This does not mean that all criminals will necessarily enter through the door, especially when robbing a home, but in many cases, the doors are the easiest way to gain access.
Cameras used for entry and egress points should be provided with lenses that provide a narrow viewing angle so that they can capture more detail. This is the best opportunity to capture a clear image of perpetrators’ faces. Placement of the camera is critical as well, as it must be done so that there is no way to pass through the entryway without being captured by the camera.
Automatically panning cameras should never be used for entry and egress points. If they are used, they provide a window of opportunity to pass into the building without being captured on video. The point here is to capture everyone.
Traffic Choke Points
Since most criminals are familiar with video surveillance systems, they will expect to find cameras at the entry and egress points. The more intelligent and imaginative will develop ways of avoiding having their faces caught by these cameras, whether by looking away, wearing a wide brimmed hat, or holding something that covers the majority of their face.
To capture the faces of those who are missed by the cameras at the entry points, the next best place for cameras is in any traffic choke points. Once again, these cameras should have narrow-angle lenses to capture detail, rather than wide-angle lenses that cover an area. The lens should be sized to cover the full width of the chokepoint, without extra camera angle being wasted taking pictures of the walls.
Cashiers, Tellers, and Others Who Handle Money
Many robberies are performed directly at the cash register, whether by criminals who come in to rob or by employees stealing from the company. Cameras placed to capture the actions of cashiers and their customers provide another excellent opportunity to capture faces of perpetrators. These cameras need a slightly wider field of view, as the perpetrator may stand in more than one position. At the same time, the camera should be able to capture the actions of the cashier or teller.
Some companies try to use one camera to capture the actions of a group of cashiers and their customers. It is important to remember that the wider the camera angle is and the more information that is being captured, the less detail will be available. While it may be possible to capture a robbery in process on a camera with a wide-angle lens, it may not be possible to positively identify the perpetrator from such a video.
It is better to spend the extra money necessary to have one camera for each cashier or teller station. While this adds greatly to the cost of the system, surveillance camera prices have dropped considerably when compared to prices just 10 years ago.
Key Assets
Any valuables that are highly pilferable should be monitored constantly with video cameras. These would include valuable products for sale, valuable materials for use in a facility, or storage of valuables.
Camera placement in these cases should take into consideration all possible angles of approach, as well as being able to see what the individual does with the valuables. It is important to be able to capture the face of anyone performing any criminal activity, not just see that it is being done. Camera lenses should be selected to cover the entire area, while still providing sufficient detail.
Once again, these should be fixed cameras and not panning cameras. It is important to have these cameras also cover the access route to the camera so that the camera cannot be turned from viewing the assets without the person turning the camera’s face being recorded.
Outside Areas
While not as critical as the above-mentioned areas, many businesses and homeowners use outside cameras to monitor and record activity around the building. These cameras are provided with wide-angle lenses in order to capture as much of the area as possible. While this does not provide as clear an image as a narrow camera angle will, it can provide key information, especially if the entrance or choke point cameras are compromised in any way.
While it is common to use cameras on an automatic pan head in these applications, it must be noted that criminals will look for and time the actions of said cameras. If it is possible to gain access without the camera capturing their activities, they will attempt to do so.
A Word About Camera Overlap
One way of creating a very secure video surveillance system is to overlap camera angles. This reduces the possibility of anyone slipping through the system without being seen by one camera or another. However, it greatly increases the cost of the system, as more cameras and more wiring is needed.
As part of designing an overlapped system, it is a good idea to have cameras include the positions of their nearest neighbors in their coverage angles. That way, if someone were to tamper with one camera, it would be caught by the next nearest cameras. This is somewhat complicated to set up, but it can be accomplished by carefully laying out the cameras on a plan of the facility.