Nearly half of 12 former burglars interviewed by The Guardian confessed that they will flee from a house that has security cameras. If you want to protect your home and your family from perpetrators, you would want to install surveillance cameras.
What’s Bad for Surveillance Cameras
The beauty of security systems these days is that they don’t have to be expensive. Many companies offer Do-It-Yourself security camera kits. Backstreet-surveillance.com says that each kit can include everything you need for a quick and easy installation.
But not all DIY installations can create the desired outcome for your security. Here are some of the common mistakes when installing security cameras.
- Forgetting to secure surveillance cameras: Unsecured security cameras without protection are vulnerable from tampering by those plotting to break into your home.
- Putting the cameras at the highest place: It may seem smart to place security cameras in a high location, but the larger view it provides won’t give you a very detailed look at a criminal’s features.
- Installing the wrong camera at doorways and windows: Doorways and windows are narrow locations that need wide-dynamic range cameras.
- Not providing enough lighting: Not having enough lighting for night time monitoring won’t give you a clear footage in the dark. Putting cameras too close to bright lights will most likely disrupt the recorded footage.
Install Security Cameras in the Right Places
Security cameras are only effective when you put them in the right spots. Here are the necessary places that you have to secure with surveillance cameras:
- The front door: About 70 percent of burglars enter your home through a door and 34 percent of them enter through the front door. Place the camera at the second-floor level to make sure the perpetrator doesn’t knock out your camera.
- The back door: The back door is just as important as the front door because burglars will enter through it if they can’t go through the front.
- The side doors: They are equally important as the two because burglars will most likely use plenty of alternatives to break into your home.
- Near off-street windows: About 23 percent of perpetrators choose a first-floor window when they break into a house to make sure nobody sees them.
Other places you may want to consider putting up security cameras, include:
- Basement
- Driveways
- Garage
- Second floor
Finally, don’t work against your security system by making it seem like no one’s at home. Burglars typically choose houses where the owners appear to be on vacation. Thieves will look for signs, like mail piling up and overgrown bushes. Make arrangements to have your mail rerouted to another address or to a post office box. You can also keep your yard trimmed before heading off to a long vacation. And just basically do everything you can to make it seem like someone is home.
A home surveillance system is one way to protect your family and property. With DIY systems, you don’t need to spend too much. You just have to install the cameras at the right areas and to secure them from tampering.
