Protecting businesses from crime is a daily struggle for many SME owners, but investing in CCTV cameras could save you the hassle. Whether you own a shop, warehouse, factory or office, CCTV (closed circuit television) can help your business fight crime and protect your assets. Grays Locksmiths has put together the benefits of CCTV systems and outline top tips of what to look out for when installing a system in your premises.
Benefits for installing a system include:
1. Deterrent for Intruders
CCTV systems reduce theft and crime for small and larger businesses. Criminals know that they are being watched which increases the chances of them being caught, so potential intruders don’t take the risk. As criminals are deterred, CCTV cameras has helped to protect against vandalism and financial loss for businesses.
2. CCTV Protects your Employees
CCTV systems don’t just protect the items and possessions in your building, office or shop, but they also protect the people. Your staff can feel safer as they gain better protection against intruders and crime.
3. CCTV Provides Evidence
If your building is subject to a break in or other crime, there will be sufficient evidence to support you, with the added benefit of catching the culprit. Shop-lifters or burglars can be identified using CCTV as the cameras act as an electronic witness.
4. CCTV’s for Everyone’s Budget
CCTV systems do not have to be expensive, but it’s important to invest in a system that will work your business, the way you work, how often you get deliveries and the number of people coming and going from the premises. Talk to our team to find out more.
Tips for installing
High quality CCTV image is something to think about to ensure that if a crime happens, the police can use your video footage.
Location
The CCTV camera needs to be in full view so that people know they are being watched, or else people won’t be deferred from causing damage. The location of the camera will affect how big or how small people and intruders will appear in the CCTV footage. If people are too far away, it will be hard to distinguish an intruder. The CCTV images need to provide a clear image of a person, including their face, their clothes and whether they are carrying anything suspicious or stolen.
Where to install
In a shop or store, we would recommend that you have a CCTV camera at the entrance of your store which is close enough to capture people’s faces and also at the till of the shop. Get professional advice on this though.
Monitor CCTV
Many businesses leave CCTV systems running without keeping an eye on them. However, having the TV monitor on display so that employees can see it will help the general security of your business. Small crimes may happen without you noticing if the CCTV is not watched.
Lighting and Camera Angles
Lighting will affect the quality of the images, so this needs to be taken into account so that there is a clear image of an intruder. If a camera is too high up, it will struggle to capture a person’s face, making it harder to identify intruders. Whether you own a corner shop or a large multi-building warehouse, CCTV is essential for all businesses to deter criminals and to protect your assets. There’s lots to consider when deciding on a CCTV system.
Will you need to add more cameras?
It’s important to have a flexible and scalable surveillance system. Again, speak to an expert, but traditional CCTV systems are closed circuit meaning that everything is hard-wired and difficult to scale. It is therefore wise to perhaps choose IP cameras which connect over a wireless network, allowing you to easily scale any system as you need. Adding IP cameras to a network is simple and quick, and there’s no wiring to change or update.
