Home Improvement DIY

One of the many considerations a burglar makes before breaking into a home is what security system is in place.  The certainly do not want to be observed whilst committing the crime and do not want to leave traces of them being there.  So video surveillance system can go a long way to preventing your home being targeted by thieves.

Try and think like a thief.  Would you want to break in to a home with video surveillance cameras when the house next door has none?  No, of course not.  They’ll also think that if you have cameras you’ll also have other security measures in place.  It’s just not worth their effort.

Video cameras will allow you to exactly what is going on in real-time both inside and outside your home, depending on where you have them installed.  They will allow you to look out for strange behaviour, possible for someone checking your house out as a possible job.  You can also keep the recording for later if you feel the need to show it to the police, perhaps other houses in the area have been targeted.

Types of Video Surveillance Systems

First of all decide if you want them to be covert and overt.  In other words, visible or hidden.  As touched on above, overt systems will be a deterrent in themselves to prevent break-ins.  The covert type serves two purposes. One aspect is the basic function provided by visible system - to view, record and playback. The other provides an additional function that is sometimes useful.

Unfortunately burglaries aren’t just carried out by strangers.  People you think you can trust such as gardeners, babysitters and cleaners can carry out thefts.  You may even want to make sure they are doing their job properly.

If you have signs up that cameras are being used, this can be enough to deter people carrying out acts of crime.  If people don’t know where you’ve hidden the cameras they may decide it’s not with the risk of being filmed.

Price and Functions - Obviously the price you’ll pay will depend on the level of sophistication.  Some are just basic camcorders but mounted on a wall.  Most will provide you with the ability to view what is being filmed remotely.  By that I mean you can view it from you home, a PC at work or by a professional company.

The more recent models will allow you to control it with your PC so that you can control movement and bigger storage of longer recordings.  You’ll also be able to edit the vide clip, turn the devices on or off at set times.  If you are suffering from repeat break-ins you can set the camera to record when movement is detected.  The video clip will then be emailed to you and a text message sent to your cell phone.

Privacy - Even although it’s your own system you might not want it on when your home.  Unfortunately because out memories aren’t always what they should be, you may forget to switch it back on when you leave the house for work.  You would therefore set the system to automatically switch on and off so you don’t have to remember.  It can even be set up to do this automatically when you open and close you front door.

Still more sophisticated systems may include motion detectors, or start the camera when motion or sound is detected and other features.

Technology can help protect your home like never before. Systems start at a few hundred dollars and range up to a few thousand.  Which one you buy will depend on how much you have to protect and how vulnerable you feel.  Make sure you take the time to compare the functionality of each one before you buy.

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