Workshop security - CCTV

With things as they are vis a vis a depleted service from the police I am thinking of beefing up household/workshop security. I have the standard Chubb/multipoint locks/alarms fitted but CCTV systems look to be at a reasonable price these days and might provide good deterrence.

My problem is that I haven't got a clue about what features and specifications I should be looking for.

Any recommendations?

Mick

A few things to bear in mind.

1) Most CCTV cameras are fairly low definition, so yes you do get to know when you got broken into but working out who did it may not be so easy.

2) Burglars know to cover up when they know that there are cameras.

3) Having too many cameras can make it very tedious to find any usable information.

My preference is for a couple of wide angle cameras covering general areas (front garden, back garden and path for example) and then to have concealed cameras in likely places. Near doors / windows where they are going to have a go at getting in. These should be well lit at all times and be set so that a good image of the persons face is captured.

Regards.

David.

I would suggest there are three levels of choice - low cost imported systems the like of which you see in CPCs mailshots, conventional analogue systems with connectivity either by coax or by wifi and the more professional systems that are digital based and connect with CAT5 cabling.

The lower cost systems might just have one camera that can feed into your house TV.

The CAT5 systems carry the digital video data and the power over the CAT5 cable so it is an easy install with one connection. The base router accepts all the cables into it and provides a recording facility, local monitoring facility or a viewer via a smartphone wherever you are.

The analogue systems usually need a power source local to the camera and then bring the video back either on coax or wifi. They also have a base router, recorder and local monitor. Many of these also have remote monitoring on a smartphone.

Both analogue and digital systems will have some form of movement detection on areas that you define on each camera picture and with adjustable sensitivity. The digital cameras seem less prone to false alarms.

Have a look at COP-EU to get some ideas of what is professionally available but they do not show prices unless you are a registered dealer with them. Look at **LINK** which is a local supplier that I have used who does not seem to have an axe to grind and will give you a fair assessment of what you ought to go for.

No association with COP or QCCTV. Hopefully between the two you will get on the way to a solution.

I have an 8 camera digital system at home and it is very reassuring when we are on holiday to be able to see what is going on inside and outside the house and workshop via smartphone if only to see the sun shining at home and the rain pouring down where we are.

Alan

Cheapest solution is an old camera phone and an IP camera app. if you are after a real recorder and not a deterrent.

Of course have both - big cameras outside, hidden ones where they will drop their guard.

N.

I have a few of these installed around the house **LINK** No recorder required and they even phone you and transmit video when motion is detected in the area under surveillance.

I installed a few for a friend on his farm and soon identified the neighbour's son who was pinching his diesel fuel at 0230 Hrs. The IR means a b&w picture but it shows reflective number plates up nicely. (The lad wore his hoodie with a recognisable logo anyhow, it's a small community)

Something like this should be available in the U.K.

* Danny M *

When i lived in south london I installed extensive CCTV at both my home and clinic. One ocassion we had a car vandalised at home and another time a bicycle stolen from the garage. When the Police finally turned up (1 & 2 days later) they bluntly stated 'If you don't know who they are we're not going to find them'. When the clinic was broken into it was by a stolen fire extinguisher used to smash through toughened glass by a hoodie-wearing job. Police didn't even turn up that time..just gave me a crime number and a letter saying 'sorry you were a victim of crime'. The towrag got a whole £15 in cash - the float from the till- and did several hundred pounds worth of damage to get it.

I've even heard it said that security lights just help the burglars see what they're doing and no-one bothers looking if an alarm goes off in town. Society has gone feral.

pgk

From personal experience CCTV provides bugger all deterrent.

Tony

Mick

High def cameras with good quality imaging are these days both cheap and plentiful. To avoid complexity though I would recommend buying and installing a kit comprising camera/s and a recording device (NVR) - of which ebay for instance display multi choices.

I tried doing it using wifi cameras and free software on a PC but it did not suit me and I would not recommend it. My 1080 IP HD cams are branded PRIKIM and I use one of these for storage:

f:0">https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HiWatch-By-Hikvision-4-Channel-4MP-IP-Network-NVR-CCTV-Recorder-H-264-NVR-104-A/202242425532?hash=item2f169682bc:m:mkgVYltdqKFeR-67I5vh8Vg:rk:57f:0

It’s not a kit I know but I had the cameras already. Choose to connect your cams directly to the NVR by Ethernet cable rather than wirelessly if you want to keep things simple

Rik

A mate was having trouble with intruders in his yard, and installed motion sensor lighting, that got triggered, but they were gone by the time he got outside, so I removed the lights, and plugged in an extension cord to a radio inside the house. When the radio came on in the wee small hours the intruder was not disturbed until my mate went out and caught him trying to drain some petrol from the car. The Police were informed in the morning, but he has never had any problems since then, 10 15 years ago.

Ian S C

"From personal experience CCTV provides bugger all deterrent."

Sorry to hear that Tony but straight from the mouth of a DI quite recently after a nearby break in the best deterrents in order are:

Visible alarm system

Visible CCTV

Large noisy dog

Rik

(I suspect Tony Martin would like to add to the above list!)

You putting yourself up for this as a deterrent, Rik? How much do you charge?

Get yourself a dog, nothings able to pass other side of road day or night.

Probably looking at a deterrent, lqst 16 years round here it took them 3 days to come out for a citizens arrest had to let them go. Any videos worthless ot dont do their job. Not to mention last time they came from 30 mile away and next job on 20 odd mile towards where they came from 2hrs travelling and wear and tare wasted of tax payers dosh how inefficient.

Expect i would get a good response now from two teams, theres a marker on the property.

Can you explain all that please Jon? It makes no sense at all

Yes, that's been my experience too. And unless you have high-res cameras and floodlights so you get a decent colour image at night they are little use for identifying the intruders.

The last time we had night-time intruders in the yard the CCTV recorded their entry but the IR pictures were no use for ID purposes and they then ripped the camera off the wall before removing several vehicle batteries.

Everyone has a different tale to tell about break-ins, value of deterents etc. Police response to recorded crime on vids seems to vary widely. One force sent a guy who could identify details from a low-res b&w vid with unbelievable accuracy leading to subsequent arrest. Other forces are just totally dimissive these days as others report above.
There's an interesting vid on YouTube showing a house breaker being interviewed in prison. Yes, it's American and it goes on at length but it seems genuine and is quite enlightening about alarms, cameras etc.
**LINK**

High definition CCTV got me a new front wall when a Tesco delivery van collided with it. Sent a couple of stills to the claims department showing the van index plate at the moment of destruction and received an almost instant e-mail saying they would send someone round to measure up.

Worth having I think. If nothing else you can see what's happening outside without curtain twitching

John

Loads of stuff to have a look at there, gents. Thank you very much.

Mick

I have CCTV in my workshop and as a result of upgrading my system I fitted a new camera HD 1080 in daylight the quality of the picture is very good however a night with infrared lighting it's not so good. I'm thinking of turning on the lights when the door is opened, so the point I'm making if you do fit one make it a good one.

H

Burglars love security lights, saves them having to wait for full moon.

Neil

CCTV a complete and utter waste of money for reasons previously mentioned. I speak as a commercial Insurance Broker with 47 years hands on experience.

Robert Butler