Top Tips When Installing CCTV Cameras
CCTV cameras are now affordable enough to be used to protect domestic homes. They can offer significantly more protection than smart doorbells but only if they are installed correctly. With that in mind, specialists in home and business security, ISET Solutions, share their expertise into where and how to install CCTV cameras on your property.
Cover all Vulnerable Areas
You should aim to have CCTV cameras on all exposed parts of your property, including the front. In fact, the front of your house is a particularly vulnerable area. This is because it’s now so easy for criminals to pretend to be delivery drivers. They can walk right up to your front door and either enter there or knock on it to see if anyone is at home. If someone answers the door, they can make an excuse and leave.
The cameras need to cover any viable point of entry. This often means windows as well as doors. Ground-floor windows are the most vulnerable. Upper-floor windows can, however, be possible entry points too, especially if they are off-street windows. If nobody is able to see them and there are no cameras then criminals may be able to access them using ladders.
In addition to the house itself, you should try to put CCTV cameras on your drive and any outbuildings. If you have a larger garden, it can be helpful to have CCTV cameras monitor its perimeter. Sad as it is to say, this is particularly important if you have pets, especially dogs. Currently, they are an inducement to criminals rather than a deterrent.
Once you have a basic idea of what areas you need to cover, you can work backwards from there to see where best to put a camera to cover it. When doing so, your foremost consideration needs to be image quality. This means that you may need more than one camera to cover any given area. For example, you might want a camera high up to identify people approaching plus one lower down to capture their faces clearly.
Where to put your Cameras
Even if you are planning on implementing your CCTV discreetly, rather than making it a visual deterrent, you still need to ensure that your cameras themselves are physically safe. Ideally, you want them to be high enough up to be hard to reach either with a hand or with a projectile and also behind some form of protective casing. You absolutely need to use one or the other.
If you’re using wireless cameras then you also need to ensure that your internet connectivity is protected. If a criminal can either cut through the cable or hack into your WiFi then your cameras will be useless. You might also want to think about having a backup internet connection in case your main one is disrupted for other reasons.
In the UK, your CCTV cameras will need protection from the elements. This is probably going to mean putting them in some kind of housing. They don’t have to be beside a light source but they do need light to work effectively (unless you buy specific night-vision cameras). This means that you may need to increase the lighting around your home and its perimeter.
Domestic CCTV and GDPR
Under current UK law, if your CCTV only covers your own domestic property then it is outside the scope of GDPR. If, however, it covers any other areas (such as shared spaces, neighboring properties or the public street) then it does. This means that most homeowners should ensure that their cameras are positioned so that they only capture data from the homeowner’s own property.
If you absolutely must film outside the boundaries of your property then you should be prepared to show that your reason for doing so is legitimate and that the use of CCTV is proportionate in that context. You must also be prepared to action subject access requests and data deletion requests.
