A question I've been pondering for a while since I notice a lot of deals come up for home security cameras and there seem to be a lot of people here that have them… For those of you that have installed security cameras at your house, what are they for? Like what do you actually do with them? What problem are they solving?
Reading this back I know it sounds a bit like a wind-up but I'm genuinely curious; I've never thought I needed them for anything and am wondering why they're so popular.
I got CCTV cameras installed in our strata complex - one week later police asked to see the recordings, and as a result identified and arrested an international crime gang that had been stealing expensive cars (new Porsche, Mercedes) to order for overnight export to other countries. So that felt like money well spent.
If the cars were yours or someone else in the complex, yes.
Really?
They must have had a pretty efficient supply chain set up. Imagine being able to get the shipping and Customs paper-work all lined up, the vehicle(s) down to the wharf, and the handy ship on standby to leave for overseas that night, or next day.
I too play GTA5
nice troll - of course I don't know how long it took - my observation from the CCTV recordings was shiny new looking Porsche and Mercedes being driven into our garage area after midnight, a big boss guy in a suit swaggering in to inspect the goods, and the cars being driven out a short time later. Make of that what you will.
Seeing something about the Calabrian mafia controlling many businesses, I wouldn't be surprised if required paperwork was either not needed, overlooked, or somehow fudged - you know, to include luxury cars in a container labelled as something else - dunno - you be the know-it-all … ;-)
I prefer not to make stuff up.
@jackspratt: 'I prefer not to make stuff up'
nice attempt to provoke - lemme try to parse that - implying that I was making stuff up - about the international crime gang stealing luxury cars to order for export in shipping containers ?
that was in fact what the police told me was the result after they took a copy of our CCTV recordings - so if they made that up, it would seem odd and unnecessary to me.
So you can imagine I made up that story, but no - it was just what the police told me - not something from some imaginary game like GTA.
@Hangryuman: No - it was your "overnight export" statement.
Which my first response clearly indicates.
Some people just stick a sign up cctv or security cameras on the front gate. Even though they dont have cameras this will deter some crims but not all.
Those crims may decide to go elsewhere looking for a easier lower risk target.
what seems to have worked for us recently after bicycle room thefts was still photos from the CCTV images, printed out and posted on the front wall of the bicycle room, of the thieves, with 'HAVE YOU SEEN THESE' - we haven't been disturbed since …
To cover the entrances and hopefully capture attempted break ins (passing footage to police for evidence)
To see if a parcel was delivered to my front door
To check if my garage is open
To detect unwanted animals on my property
Paranoia
Out the front I've got 2 oversized obvious cameras with extra bright IR to deter crims looking for a target. I know it won't stop a determined crim, but it might make our place look like it's more work than it's worth. A few years ago when our neighbours were having their cars broken into every couple of days for months, our place was the only one untouched despite us not even having a front fence or gate. The neighbours and police were regularly visiting to check our street footage.
We haven't had issues for quite some time, but the cameras are still there just in case. They keep track of deliveries, Facebook marketplace sales we leave out and they're also tied into FrigateAI so they get used for automations.
I've also got some in the chicken coop as they seem to cause the most trouble these days.
To check the front door. And to keep nosey housemates out of rooms where they were told not to go. You'd think it would be enough to say a room is full of other people's personal stuff and not go in there, but apparently they need to go in there, rummage around, then shit bricks when they see the camera. I have another camera pointed at my printers so I can see when they are done printing.
I use it to talk to the delivery guy to leave it on the front porch when I’m on the toilet. Better than leaving those ‘’sorry we missed you’ letters.
For me below,
Lets face it, cameras don't actually stop anyone who is determined to commit a crime. But they might make an opportunist think twice or pick and easier target.
Mostly because I'm a nerd and I can.
If it adds to security or discourages people not to break in, great.
Mostly it's used to look back to see the wife fall over or something else stupid :P
You need the camera so that you will know what colour hoodie the thief was wearing.
security cameras (even fake ones) are a good deterrent, even crap thieves prefer not to be watched if their is a safer target down the street. Secondly they do provide evidence if you are robbed (least important thing for me as much prefer the deterrent factor). 3rdly they provide a lot of other minor benefits like seeing when items are delivered (or in the case of many of the shit couriers NOT delivered) as well as being able to check up on pets or visitors coming to the yard/door or whether the person I paid to do tiling/yard work/ maintenance is actually there working rather than charging me by the hour while they sit in their ute chatting with there mates..
They're for security…….it's in the name………
I have every entrance to the house covered, I get alerts with clips sent straight to my phone and to the cloud, I can answer the front door via the video doorbell as well as see when packages are delivered, and i get alerts when my dog is picked up on any of them going in/out of the doggy doors (or when someone elses bloody cat is on my back deck).
They're for security…
The vast majority of responses here have indicated that the cameras are not used predominately for "security" purposes. The cameras don't prevent any crimes, they (at best) might discourage some criminal activity. Or, if something does happen, support an insurance claim or police report.
The things you described them doing in the last sentence is security though.
My last sentence:
Or, if something does happen, support an insurance claim or police report.
That isn't security; it doesn't prevent or deter any crime or similar. At best, it might help in solving the matter.
You just described security.
Not the definitions I've looked at.
For when we're away and mum's by herself at home. One cam facing entry and one facing kitchen. When we see mum raiding the fridge, then all is well.
First house built in an estate, wanted to keep an eye out on rubbish being dumped on my property or nature strips by tradies, people using my taps and stuff for other houses building (painters and brickies), making sure external appliances (AC / Hot water etc) were left alone and undamaged, once the fence went up to make sure no damage was done to it by those building on boundaries.
Have captured a couple of hit and runs including of a neighbours car, was able to pull a plate and ID the vehicle so no excesses had to be paid.
Just general security to cover doors, garage, yard etc not that its a bad area or anything just nice to be able to keep an eye on things.
OP is making a point that cameras are in reality pretty pointless. And I get it.
If you're away and someone breaks in, you get a notification… Cool, what are you going to do? Say hi to them through the speakers?
Someone breaks in and you have footage of them. Cool, you got photos of some idiots wearing masks. Or if they're not, you send the photos to the cops who have no idea who they are. And even if they can somehow identify them, they have to prove in court that your noisy, grainy footage is them beyond reasonable doubt. Good luck.
The best you can hope with cameras is that it deters wanna be's who are new to the game and think that cameras could be a risk. People who do this a lot know that it's not.
But on the flip side, if you over secure your house and it looks protected, you can make it look like you got something good to protect and theives will wanna see what's so good in there
Not making a point! Just curious. Don’t think they serve much purpose for me personally but a few of the responses have enlightened me.
You could, you know, call police when you see someone attempting to break in because you got a notification? Or yes, you can literally tell them that they’re being recorded and the police are on their way. Mine also have sirens that I can set off as well, drawing attention.
The idea that they are pointless is insane. Also cameras these days don’t record “noisy grainy footage”. I’ve got a mix of 1080p and 4K cameras. They record great footage.
People who break into lots of houses know that it’s best to go for the easiest targets - those with no visible security.
I watch my front and back luscious Lawn :)
If there’s a murderer trying to break in my house, I can prepare a trap while knowing where the killer is. With the knowledge of their position, I can do a preemptive strike where I can leap behind them and slice of their neck without them ever knowing because I have first hand knowledge where they are located due tot he security camera.
According to every security industry worker I've spoken to, the best system to have is an alarm.
Having the alarm blaring reduces the time that thieves spend inside the house from potentially over an hour looking through every cupboard and drawer for something useful, to under 3 minutes so they're rushed and can't go through every part of the house at their leisure and walk out of the house with whatever they want.
If I recommend any cameras. It would be ones that make an alarm sound when it sees a person between certain times when you shouldn't be walking around. I've seen these many times scare off potential thieves before they even get into the house.
and - an alarm that goes off when the resident is away on holidays - we've had that - waking people in the middle of the night - stressing out multiple people - how to gain access or contact the resident overseas - drama, tension, anxiety
after much stress it was determined it was a bedside alarm - access was obtained, and the damn thing shut off - not before upsetting too many people.
in other alarm news, we have a commercial building a block away that regularly false alarms outside the building - where we hear the alarm echoing annoyingly in the street for up to an hour each time before someone comes to check and turn if off.
and as for car alarms - I believe they were made illegal unless they turned off within 90 seconds or something, as long-sounding car false alarms with nobody in sight and an absent owner annoyed the hell outta too many people already. I read that most people hearing such will glance out their window - if they see nothing, they'll do nothing, ignore it thereafter until they call the police to report the noise disturbance seeking to fine the noisy car owner. Result - I don't recall the last time heard a car alarm … ?
Fair enough.
Personally I don't care about the comfort of other people's ears for the minor possibility of an occasional false alarm if it means my property is protected from thieves rummaging through my belongings for hours at a time because there's no reason for them to stress and rush.
Someone more concerned about other people's annoyance over that sort of thing might reconsider an alarm for protection. And that's just fine 🙂
1 doorbell for packages.. camera outside for my pond incase a pipe breaks and to see my dogs during day.. Then camera in carport watching our cars
My parents installed a cam above front door. They kept getting angry anonymous letters hand delivered to letterbox complaining about their annoying dog…except they dont have one.
Dad really annoyed that he doesnt know who is the complaining person and wants to find out!
And since installing, in a prominent spot, no letters so case remains unsolved!
I got cameras for security reasons and it has come in handy quite a few times. My elderly neighbour who has alzheimer went missing without his mobile. His wife didn't know where he went and had no description of clothing and time he left. Police came knocking to see whether my cameras caught him leave. They were able to put out a description and found him later that day.
House came with them, good to keep an eye on kids and pets when inside making meals.
Listening to the latest goss and neighbours talking crap about my front yard.
I got them because the front and bank door outside lights were stuffed. Replaced then with eufy floodlight cams.
Extra couple of hundred over an arlec floodlight to get nice led lights with great cameras. The internal memory is garbage so I'll probably get a Homebase 3 eventually.
I like it as a deterant and to see Mr wallaby eating my vegetable garden.
Ours are partly a deterrent, partly just to be able to know what has happened throughout the day, and these days to see cool wildlife that we get in our garden (echidna every night this week!).
Installed camera for parcel delivery, when I'm not home I know the couriers have placed the parcels at my front door. Very handy imo.
do they also show you the neighbour/passerby taking said parcels From your front door ? ;-)
Definitely Yes. If you place the camera in the right place.
what are they for?
idk wanna make a guess?
Like what do you actually do with them?
Seriously… make a guess
You don't need to be the most secure house on the street. You just don't want to be the least secure…
You know those industry superfund adverts? Change the rhetporic to do with security features your house has.
I have insecurity cameras. They scare my scumbag neighbor enough to keep his dogs quiet.
Security cameras are an excellent means of getting crappy footage of some unidentifiable peeps in hoodies robbing you. That's about it.
in recordings of perps walking around our complex at 3am, where they enter in a hoodie covering their face and head, typically one camera will record a full face where the perp forgot or didn't expect there to be a camera there - police are happy to receive such images - smile !
Let me guess why the story ended there, police couldn't identify them 😭
So it's a bit different since I work in the industry and have installed mine myself, making it far from cost prohibitive. Hell I just ordered 6x 4k cameras to replace some 1080p ones and they're only like $45 each.
Anyway, they're mainly a deterrent. I've got 3 very obvious ones in the front yard (door / each side) and another 5 scattered throughout the backyard / garage etc. It's nice to be able to look back when something is suspected but it's never come up. In reality all I've used them for is to say that auspost didn't deliver something lol.
I've also got a screen hooked up to them all in the kitchen on the wall, so it's nice to be able to see who's at your front door / driveway at a glance too.
Our builder didn’t want us to have security screens because we were going to have security cameras. My response was, “Great, so they’ll be able to identify the people who murder us.” (Extreme scenario). Cameras are another level of security and deterrent. They make your house less attractive to thieves.
Can confirm I locked the doors after I leave.
Can see if the garage door is open
Can see if an Amazon parcel just got dropped off
A car got broken into a year ago or so, we were able to get some sort of identification from them.
Our primary reason for getting cameras is that I have a delinquent nephew who lives in the same suburb and if our house gets broken into, it would be my assumption that he was the one who did it.
We had thought about it for years but finally got it done when our local council offered a rebate for private cameras that cover public areas.
I am really glad to have them now.
A Deterrent, and to see what my dogs up to while I'm at work.
One of my neighbours is trucking nuts
they must be pistachio - did they cashew doing something they didn't like ?
To see everything happening on the front yard
2005 Swan hd NVR 8 camera system. Connected to ethernet cable for online access.
4 cameras to cover all the sides of the house.
1 in porch
3 in bedrooms (4 bed room house)
To monitor my autistic kid.
Configured in tiny cam viewer app installed in my chromecast tv.
Now I can see him on my 85" tv while I'm cooking.
Garbage bin went missing. I was getting ready to egg and toilet paper every Neighbours house within a 1 km radius. Thought I better check the camera footage first, the bin slipped through the garbage truck tongs and went in with the trash.
Now happily eating bacon and egg muffins instead.
Ex-wife gone rogue.
Possums originally.
A deterrent is the main reason. Even the dumbest of criminals will skip the house with the full camera coverage and just move onto the next.
Other than that, I use them regularly to check parcel deliveries (system notifies of movement at the front door for example) and mine have 2-way audio so I can speak with them if need be, food deliveries (so I know when they have dropped it off and gone), checking to see if the postman is putting anything in the letterbox before I bother going out to it… all kinds of things.
As I live near a main road with a busy intersection and roundabout, get a decent amount of crashes and dumb driving behaviour too. You hear the wheels screech - you open the camera and watch it back to see what happened, cheap entertainment!
I have security cameras at my business as I store things there that are legally required by the government to be recorded (alcohol bond store).
I have cameras at home because I'm legally required to have a security camera or an audible alarm on a gun safe for handgun storage and thanks to ozbargain banning firearm deals, I only see deals on cameras, not safe alarms..
Well, whenever I hear strange noises outside my house I use it to make sure it’s not someone trying to break in. Also I don’t have to get out so check if everything’s fine.
My neighbour used to be rented as a government housing. 4 kids +single mom. Our parcel got missing few times so I installed camera. One day I got back home and noticed a parcel wrapping bag on the ground with my name sticker on it , items gone . Checked with my neighbour the mom denied . After I checked the camera video, one of 4 neighbours kids visited my front door just after postman left .the girl opened the parcel and took the item. Showed the video to her mom and got item back before police engaged Also used the same video to get my another neighbour’s new iPhone back in the same day. The day I lost my item that girl swept the whole street’s parcels and a pet dog :(, police did care about our parcels but visited them for the pet dog . I still remembered pet owner crying when they got their pet dog back from them.
We had a break in when we lived in an apartment, since then I've installed an indoor security camera. Since then we've moved to a house, and keep using the same camera, then we had another break in.
We showed the captured video to the police officers and they eventually captured the guy.
While showing the video, one of the police mentioned this was easy because the face of the guy is clearly captured in the video.
Since then I've added 2 exterior cameras for added peace of mind
Check my deliveries from Amazon/eBay
To make sure packages are delivered and not stolen. I live in a pretty nice area so its more for making sure its been delivered when its tracked delivered or a driver actually showed up when package is tracked as delivery attempted.
Shit happens.
I like to get alerts when people enter my backyard when I'm not home.
PS. Get a Dashcam.
people leaving dog shit on lawns
kids doing knock & runs
gangs scoping out houses for break ins (our cams have spotlights so they hurry past)
course if we didn't have cams wouldn't know so many gangs scoping our street
A mate of mine was robbed and the cops didn't even want his footage as it's too much effort for break ins.
So all he had in the end is video footage of him getting robbed.
I'd rather skip the rewatching myself get robbed part.
Why is it people choose not to steal security cameras, yet everything else?
Even if you encourage them, and tell them the cost of that camera they not do it.
All you need is a screw driver and ply it from the wall.
Free money yet they never do it other them trash your bins for cans.
Psychology is a hard field.
most of them are installed high enough , and i installed multi cameras to cover each other. cross-fire. unless they steal all of them.
Haha love this post. Great way to tell people they wasted their money without telling them directly.
Multiple angles for my OF?
I have used both expensive ones (Amazon) and cheap (chinese brand off ebay).
They all work fine depending on what you are tying to protect.
Wireless cameras are highly recommend. Most dont come with Hdd so you ll have to get that separately. These days all come with motion detection and alerts over the apps.
I removed my cctv after the recent move and using amazon ring door bell. It has great outdoor around the house view and 3-4months battery life after one charge.
Mostly notifications for when packages arrive.
Person detection in areas where nobody should be but me is also neat. Caught a sketchy guy checking if garage doors were open with em.
Also helped police once when a food delivery guy got carjacked out front.
Was connecting my vacuum cleaner to the smart life app and accidentally added a neighbours wifi camera.
Could make changes and see the live feed. it was just of the area outside their front door. I deleted the device from my app.
Awareness - the single most important feature is the motion/person detection and alarms.
I am in Queensland, so the youth crime capital, and I keep my tablet beside me with audible alerts and can bring up cameras showing all 4 sides of my house in a couple of seconds with night vision - plus I can control outside lights from the tablet now with 'all on' fast action button etc like a deterrent - it's fantastic peace of mind versus manually going around and turning outside lights on and looking out all the windows around the house every time you think you hear a noise or a neighbours' dog barks like we used to do.
I didn't have the cameras until my neighbours door was kicked in and they were robbed in a midnight home invasion by a gang of 5+ with knives - without the cameras I couldn't tell what was going on, whether to go outside, but I knew it was something by the commotion and then the police showed up and sniffer dogs chased the scent through my yard where apparently they jumped the fence to get away - if I had gone outside to investigate I could have come face to face with their escape route and who knows what would have happened.
At least 6 other people I know from work have come face to face with intruders in the night whilst investigating noises etc, rather dangerously…
…now most people I know in Qld seem to have cameras with all the alerts and features and would never consider not having them, some can talk via the camera speaker and tell people they have been spotted etc - also good for speaking to delivery drivers.
Wow, that's really bad. Ignorance is bliss?