Whilst more crimes than ever are being resolved thanks to CCTV, poor installations which result in low quality footage continue to actively hamper public and private investigations.
Thorough forward planning and consideration of environmental changes are essential in order to avoid the common CCTV mistakes that often hinder the use of CCTV images in forensic investigations. Here are five of the most common.
1. Not knowing your environment
The environment in which CCTV is installed is likely to have a dramatic impact on the surveillance system in place.
With that in mind, failing to predetermine factors which may affect the type of security system installed, such as a lack of adequate light or even overexposure to bright lights, can make the difference between usable and useless footage.
When considering the kind of system and cameras required to monitor any given area, be sure to consider the environmental and situational changes that take place throughout the day too – do any extra lights come on at night time which might impede the efficacy of the system? Or does the level of light drop significantly?
High megapixel cameras, for example, whilst excellent, struggle in low light or when expected to monitor fast movement. If these considerations are taken into account, the video and image quality is likely to be at the expected standard 24-7.
2. Using technology for the sake of it
With analogue systems being gradually replaced by the most up-to-date IP technology, it would be easy for a business installing a new surveillance solution to assume that they should be investing in IP technology.
However, the reality is that different businesses may have different requirements, and analogue and IP installations both have their own benefits and drawbacks.
Indeed, businesses should not invest in IP simply to follow trend, as analogue is still very effective in certain situations, such as live monitoring.
Hybrid installations are also very effective for those businesses who have limited back-end infrastructure for IP monitoring but who still want to take advantage of the increased functionality of IP cameras.
To be sure that the right technology is implemented, businesses should make thorough evaluations of their requirements, taking on the advice of installers and technology vendors.
3. Limited awareness of the market
The plethora of highly functional and feature-rich CCTV solutions out there on the market would make it a real mistake to design an installation “into a corner”.
A situation where updated camera or analytic technology cannot be added to an installation due to a closed, vendor specific, proprietary implementation is a common oversight.
For businesses who want to take full advantage of what is on offer in the CCTV marketplace, utilising an open platform CCTV monitoring solution which can support technologies from multiple vendors is much more effective, particularly when ensuring that a business’ surveillance needs can be supported as the security requirements evolve.
In particular, companies which design their installations based on their budget as opposed to their requirements are failing to recognise that quality CCTV solutions will deliver more effectively over a longer period of time.
If the initial investment isn’t made then CCTV solutions may fall short of their intended purpose. Installations which fail to address all considerations at the outset are frequently found to be of less use when they’re needed.
4. Poor maintenance
To avoid potential system failures, it is important to keep all equipment properly maintained.
Having a good maintenance schedule and structure means that a business can ensure all cameras are functioning as they should be, and that system integrity is up to scratch.
Neglecting this is likely to result in faults later down the line.
5. Not considering CCTV as an IT issue
The increasingly complex nature of security installations, particularly when employing IP solutions, means that CCTV is more than ever becoming an issue for the IT department instead of a concern solely for security staff.
A common error is the failure to adequately consider the capabilities of the IT department when choosing and implementing security solutions, and whether these match the requirements of complex surveillance technologies.
For example, transmission of IP footage requires high network bandwidth availability and data centre storage – these are clearly issues which should be discussed with the IT team before any significant CCTV infrastructure decisions are made.
