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Domestic

Before you start planning a CCTV installation carry out the free Home Security Survey application on this website.  After completion you will be sent a free security report, which you can use to identify the places that need some security improvements.  Doing this may well persuade you to carry out other work before installing CCTV.  For example:  If your home has an open access along the side then the report may advise you to erect a gate at the entrance to the side access, parallel to the front elevation to the house.  Do this first and then monitor it with a CCTV camera.  Once the gate has been erected you can install a camera at the appropriate height on the side wall to capture images of an intruder attempting to force or climb over the gate!  In other words, some physical security changes might affect the locations of the cameras, which you only really want to install once, in the correct place.

Small Businesses

I have not yet fully developed the Business Security Survey, but the same message about getting the physical security measures right first also applies to you, although you must follow the instructions given to you by your insurers as these will be conditional upon your cover. 

An example of the requirement of physical security measures and CCTV  

When working as the Crime Prevention Design Adviser in Ealing Borough Police I studied the methods used during about 30 robberies that took place at off-licences. I visited all the off-licences in Ealing and Acton, both robbed and not robbed and found the following:

The most robbed and crime affected off-licences had:

  • Low and open counters, allowing the thief to get behind or reach over the counter to attack the cashier and or steal from the till. 
  • The windows and doors were full of displayed merchandise and advertising posters preventing views into the store from the street. 
  • The most expensive drinks, such as champagne and fine wine were close to the door so the customer could see them on entering
  • The tills were positioned on top of the counters and some had no till guards.
  • Mainly female managers, although this may have been because the worst designed shops employed almost all the female managers. I do not know if female managers were more likely to be robbed than males
  • CCTV cameras recording onto a VCR, often pointing towards vulnerable stock

The least robbed and crime affected shops had:

  • High and deep counters with counter gates that were bolted from the inside to prevent thieves getting behind
  • Fewer displays in windows and doors allowing a line of sight of the counter from the street
  • The most expensive drinks were behind the counter
  • Most tills had till guards and were positioned within the counter making them much more difficult to snatch from
  • Mainly male managers (but see above)
  • CCTV cameras recording onto a VCR, usually pointing towards a customer standing at the counter

Most of the robbed off-licences were owned by one national chain (went into administration 2009) that used to penalise the managers financially if they lost stock and had no explanation for the loss!  The video recordings were then extremely important, because they could be used to exonerate the managers.

The point I'm making though is that the most robbed off-licences needed to do many other things in addition to maintaining the CCTV system in order to reduce the prospect of further robberies.

Some other considerations for small businesses

Consider using an external camera to capture images of persons approaching the premises.  This will prove useful should you be robbed by someone wearing a mask or other face covering since they might only place it over their face just before entering the building.

Often, a monitor on display, showing images of people entering a store to identification standard is an effective deterrent.  It makes offenders aware that their image has been recorded to a good quality and gives the ‘impression’ that the rest of the CCTV system is of similar standard. It might be useful to erect a sign at the monitor that states that recorded images are automatically sent off-site for storage (The Cloud).   

You’ll need to make regular checks of your recording device and allow for the fact that you or a member of staff might have to review recordings on a daily basis.

The recording device, router and controls should only be accessible to you and specific members of staff.  This is to avoid accidental or deliberate damage and to prevent people from turning off the system either inadvertently or deliberately.

Develop you own Operational Requirement

An operational requirement or ‘OR’ is basically a list of the problems that you want the CCTV to help with and it’s used to design the installation, to work out the level of its performance and what its functionality should be and to determine if the final installation meets with the requirements of the OR.  It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it needs to be precise.  Present your OR to an installer and use it to plan your system.  In practice it is the installer who will work out the precise locations for the cameras and what type to use and will decide on where to run the cables etc, all in liaison with you and with the intention of fulfilling your OR. Even if you’re going to install a DIY system, writing down an operational requirement will help focus the mind. Bear in mind too that the system you end up with will also be determined by the budget you have at your disposal!

A combination of poor planning and design of the CCTV system, uncertainty over the purpose of the CCTV system and a user’s unrealistic expectations has led to a considerable number of CCTV systems deemed not fit for purpose.

What do you want the CCTV to do for you?

So, now you’ve given some thought to your physical security and other security considerations you need to think about what you want the CCTV to do for you. For example, you may have recently had a vehicle broken into whilst it was parked on the hard standing in front of your house and want CCTV to act as a deterrent and at the same time capture useful images of people walking onto the hard standing.  In this example you’re going to have to think about the location and angles of the camera or cameras in order that they have the best chance of capturing useful images around the parked vehicles. At the same time make sure that the cameras are located in such a way that they do not become an easy target for the criminal.

 If you’re running a small business and you suffer from shoplifting, for example, you’ll need to identify the most vulnerable areas of the shop and consider how you’ll be able to effectively monitor the captured images.

These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself

  • What type of crimes do I want to protect myself from?
  • Do I want to be able to view callers at the entrance door or coming into and leaving the shop or office?
  • Do I need to monitor the vehicles parked to the front of the house on the drive or hard standing or parked on the road outside my house or in the office car park?
  • Do I need to be able to capture a clear image of a vehicle’s registration plate?
  • Do I need to record activity along the side of my property?
  • Will I need to monitor activity in the garden and should these images be of the entire garden or only close approaches to the dwelling or both
  • Do I need to monitor the garage?
  • What other vulnerable places around my home or business need watching?
  • Do I want to monitor rooms inside of the dwelling?
  • What sort of images do you want your cameras to capture?
  • How will I record the images and should these be recorded on or off site or both?
  • Do I want to monitor images on a portable device, such as a tablet or laptop, in live time and therefore where is the router located.
  • How will I run the cables to the cameras? (if required as many are now wire-free)
  • Should I use infra-red cameras at night or is the artificial light sufficient to use low light cameras?
  • How many cameras of what type am I going to need and do I need to install them all at the same time?
  • Is there a vulnerable flat roof which needs its own camera?

Write your answers down on a grid similar to the ones shown below. Include as much detail as possible to help you or the installer. The detail shown below is deliberately scant and is only shown for demonstration purposes.

 

Domestic House

Camera Location*

Type of Camera*

Requirement

Area and activity to be observed

Image type

Number of cameras*

In or next to the front door

Covert

View callers at the door

Identify

1

One above ground floor window and the other on the apex of the porch roof

Since the front is well lit low light cameras should be suitable

Capture images of persons loitering around my two cars parked on the hard standing to the front of the house.

 

Capture of registration plate details of offending vehicle

Identify and Recognise

2

Side wall of the house at about 8 feet high

There is good illumination along side of house therefore a low light bullet camera will be suitable

Capture image of person climbing over or forcing the side metal gate

Identify

1

Rear wall of the house centrally located between bottom of first floor windows

Infra-red or low light

General view of long back garden

Observe

1

 

Small Retail Shop with Rear Car Park - Warning signs required

Camera Location*

Type of Camera*

Requirement

Area and activity to be observed

Image type

Number of cameras*

Ceiling mounted

Dome camera

Capture images of customers entering the shop via the entrance door

Identify

1

On the wall immediately behind the till point about 8 feet high

Bullet camera or covert camera

Capture images of persons standing at the till

Identify

1

On ceiling immediately above the till

Covert camera

Capture images of till and till tray and top of head of person using the till

Identify

1

Rear wall of premises above roller shutter

Infra-red or low light

Capture images of parked cars and customers

Observe

1

Back of shop

Dome camera

Capture images of this blind spot in the shop

Recognition

1

Side wall of premises pointing towards the main road

Infra-red or low light

Capture registration plate details of vehicles as they enter the car park

Identify

1

* If you are going to use an installer then in practice it is the installer who will guide you in respect to the location of and type of camera, the cabling routes (if required) and the number required to fulfil your operational requirement.

For a CCTV system to continue to perform efficiently it will require regular maintenance by you (if it’s a DIY system) or by the installer.  Establish the maintenance costs early on so you can budget accordingly.

Locating the cameras

In locating the cameras you’ll need to take account of the lighting conditions both during the day and night.  Think about where the sun will be when it’s low on the horizon where it could ’blind’ the camera and likewise take note of where the artificial lights are located around the buildings, which may be yours, your neighbours and perhaps the council’s street lamps.  It is generally not a good idea to install a camera in place with low ambient lighting levels and point it towards the sun or an exposed light.  This will cause flare on the image, something that will even affect the image quality of a camera with back light compensation.

Most cameras are supplied with a mounting bracket and most of these allow you to mount the camera on a vertical or horizontal flat surface and aim it in a variety of angles.

To some extent your camera location is going to be partly determined by the ability to run cable to it, so before you finally decide where you are to locate your cameras be sure that cabling to these positions will be possible.  If it is essential that a camera has to be positioned at a place where a cable run cannot be achieved you do have the option of using a wireless and battery operated camera. This has its own problems, not least the need to keep it powered up. 

Above all be realistic about your expectations for image capture and try to complete the job by using as few cameras as possible.  This will make you think very hard about what a CCTV system will do for you and force you to optimise the camera positions.

When assessing the quality of a CCTV camera remember to view the recorded image.  View images both day and night.  An image in daylight viewed on a monitor may look quite different from the recorded image.

Wiring

As with all tasks involving the supply of electrical power and signalling it is the running of the various cabling that will take the most time and present the most challenges.

As already said above when you are thinking about camera locations it is very important to consider how you will run the cables to them.   In general you should use best quality cable and keep runs to less than 120 metres.  Do not run cables directly next to high power electrical supply lines. Always leave a spare length of cable at the camera and monitoring ends in case you have to reposition either.

Although RG59 coaxial cable is commonly used in CCTV installations for both power and signal you should seek further guidance from an expert and or your supplier as you may need to use a different standard coaxial cable or run signal and power separately.  An installer, who is a member of the SSAIB or NSI (see end of this advice section) will use the most appropriate cabling for the job.

Next Part: Selecting CCTV cameras 

Updated November 2015