We install different types of camera systems to suit all types of applications, from seeing who is outside your premises to viewing shoppers in a store, from simple low cost systems to the very latest in dome technology and digital multiplexers. There are different categories for helping to identify the type of camera system you require and it will depend whether you want to deter, monitor, recognise or identify the people or areas you will be viewing.
Our expert surveyors and system engineers will design the exact system you require using the most suitable cameras and equipment available, providing sound advice on the most cost-effective and professional solution for your specific needs.
CCTV
The need for some level of surveillance within homes and businesses as a crime deterrent is obvious, and for this reason camera makers have come up with a variety of closed circuit television systems, known by the general term CCTV. Unlike stations which broadcast a general signal for any television to receive, a CCTV system sends its signal only to one monitoring station for observation, or records the scene onto film for later playback.
These systems come with a number of different features. Some are black and white, while others provide full colour. The better CCTV systems also come with complete battery backup power, to prevent them from being rendered inoperative should criminals disconnect power to the building being monitored.
The CCTV monitor may serve just one channel, as in a home doorway enabling the occupant to see who is calling before opening the door to potential trouble. More commonly, CCTV utilizes multiple channels, allowing operators to monitor several locations at the same time.
To catch thieves in the act, a savvy security company will install a camera that looks obvious but is really a decoy. The real camera is camouflaged to look like something harmless, such as a wall clock. Although criminals sometimes spray paint the lens of the decoy camera to prevent it recording evidence against them, they almost always miss the real camera.
A number of high-profile crimes have been investigated and prosecuted thanks to evidence provided by such systems. They recorded the faces of the men responsible for the 7/7 bombings of London, and showed two-year-old James Bulger being led away from a shopping mall by his two killers, the ten-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. CCTV cameras also recorded scenes from the Columbine High School massacre perpetrated by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
Closed circuit television
Closed circuit television systems have varying degrees of sophistication and different recording abilities. Some units will record continuously for a week, while others only record when activated by a sensor.
Closed circuit television can be effective in ensuring personal safety by providing other people a much greater field of vision. For example, the tragedy of small children struck and killed by vehicles backing up can be largely avoided by installing such a system to give the driver a better view to the rear, and elderly or special needs family members can be monitored for irregular or unusual behaviour which could be life threatening.
Some companies that employ security guards also mount external closed circuit television cameras to show whether or not the guards are actually making their rounds.
In our increasingly litigious society, video recordings are invaluable in determining the real truth and protecting employees and businesses from frivolous lawsuits. For example, using closed circuit television to monitor the traditional Santa Claus interacting with children in shopping malls during the Christmas season can avoid lawsuits alleging abuse or fondling, filed by unscrupulous parents looking to make a quick buck by using their kids as bait.
In the private home, a babysitter’s actions can be monitored by a relatively simple black-and-white closed circuit television, thus protecting the sitter from false accusations made by the children in their care. Such a protective system works both ways, however, as parents also have a record of any abusive behaviour by the sitter that might otherwise go unreported.
Another recent application with profound legal consequences is the use of closed circuit television by law enforcement officers in patrol units. These dashboard-mounted video cameras record events that are by nature very stressful and therefore protect the officers from frivolous lawsuits filed by unhappy “clients.”