CCTV definitely worth the investment – a case study

Those that know me, appreciate just how risk averse I am. This is certainly the case when it comes to security. Living in Papua New Guinea for 3 years and working on and off for a further 10 or so may have something to do with my approach. Coupled with this you add nearly 50 years of handling burglary claims and seeing the distress and disruption this causes and here I am.

I was an early adopter of CCTV as a security measure, and even when it was cost prohibitive for me, I mounted dummy camera housings around both my home and at our offices. This worked well for many years.

However as the price dropped we reinvested and installed the real thing. Seeing the advancements in technology, we upgraded again after we had the break in here in our Melbourne office a few years ago (which I reported on at the time).

Thinking back on our journey, just looking at our Melbourne office, the video footage has been shown to be useful at least once a year but its use has been increasing. In 2021, it has beneficial twice already.

The first was for a traffic accident just down the road and the two drivers had different versions. Having developed a good relationship with the local Camberwell Police who helped us when someone stole part of our signage last year, I sent video footage to the police officer who was delighted to receive it as it was clear who was the person at fault.

A few weeks later the police visited us, to explain that a car had been stolen from beneath our immediate neighbour’s building.

In just a few minutes we provided clear video and images of the car the thieves arrived in, how they entered the secure carpark, the speeding off of the stolen vehicle and a good image of the thief himself.

I also sent the video off to some the insurance investigators that I know and trust in case they were engaged to investigate a claim for the stolen car.

A few days later the police, who were over the moon, came back to us to advise that the thief had used his own car and when they visited his home they found not only our neighbour’s car but two other stolen cars.

While we were happy to assist the police and to hopefully stop more thefts by this person, but as fate would have it, the neighbour concerned is the only one in our area who is an absolute pain and would never think to help others. We thought he may come in and say a quick thank you but we are still waiting. There are all types in the world.

The point of this post is to stress the importance of having a good quality digital video surveillance system. If you do, do not skimp out as so many do and put in an inadequate recording system and then be required to reduce the quality of the stored image that is useless that time you need it.

The second tip is that you should periodically test the recordings to ensure that all cameras are operating as they should and that they are still pointing where you want them to. We have had cases of a storm or a branch, or perhaps someone casing the place move the camera so that it no longer is facing and recording where you want it to.

Finally, the current models allow you to view the footage from your phone or remotely. When the break-in occurred a few years ago, I rushed over to the office and bust in through the back door, surprising the thief and myself. The issue was that the thief was carrying a huge knife and I was unarmed.

With the camera system upgrade, I can see where the thief is in our building [other than in individual’s offices, or restrooms of course]. As such should we have another break-in, I will feel much more in control and safe when I rush over to the office.

If you have had any good or bad experiences with your own video surveillance system or have tips for readers please leave them in the comments section.