CHALLENGES IN RESIDENTIAL CCTV SECURITY
The United Kingdom has a reputation around the world for being one of the highest users of CCTV
According to the British Security Industry Association ( BSIA ) estimates ,
the UK has around 4 to 5.9 million CCTV cameras . Britain has more surveillance activity than any other European country per capita – the latest CCTV statistics show that the country has one security camera for every 14 people !
Despite the heightened surveillance activity , the efficacy of CCTV-based surveillance is a question that begs to be answered . This article takes a closer look at residential CCTV installations and identifies key areas that need immediate attention and deployment of technology-led solutions .
CCTV SECURITY IS ONLY A DETERRENT
The underlying assumption in CCTVbased security is that the perception that one is being watched acts as a deterrent for bad actors . While the signage that announces “ Warning ! CCTV in operation ” is more of a compliance requirement , security personnel assume that this serves to prevent incidents . However , the rising number of security incidents reported across residential buildings is a wakeup call that this approach is broken .
Despite the heightened surveillance activity , the efficacy of CCTV-based surveillance is a question that begs to be answered .
INCIDENT REPORTING IS MORE OF A REACTION
In most cases , CCTV-based security works in a reactive manner , with the affected party raising an alarm or complaint after becoming aware of the incident . There have been numerous cases in which the residents come back from a vacation trip only to discover evidence of theft . As the basic security premise is to wait for a complaint to be raised prevents the initiation of timely follow-up activities .
INORDINATE DELAYS IN INCIDENT RESPONSE
Responses to a security incident is impacted by a variety of factors such as time of reporting , gaining approval for investigation , availability of qualified personnel to investigate the CCTV footage , location of the digital video recorder on which the footage resides , and the consequent logistics that needs to be taken care of to do an actual site visit to carry out the investigation .
CHALLENGES IN EXTRACTION OF INCIDENT FOOTAGE
Most CCTV security solutions require investigators to physically visit the site , identify and extract the incident . In addition to the identifying and allocating personnel to carry out the extraction of the footage , the lead time needed to do a site visit gives room for tampering and even destruction of footage . There have been cases where the recorder itself has gone missing after the incident came to light . Additionally , there could be other technical challenges as well – a failed software upgrade , the specific footage getting overwritten due to lack of storage , or even a corrupted hard drive .
DEFENDING CCTV SECURITY COSTS IS NOW A HARD SELL
Whether one buys or rents residential property , there is no way to escape the cost of CCTV security . However , due to the nature of challenges outlined in this article , residential societies are finding it difficult to convince residents to pay up their monthly fee towards security . It is time to consider a different solution !
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