Do you have security cameras at home?

[deweyzeph]

No.

Firstly, I can see outside because we don't have a 10 foot wall all around our perimeter. I think a lot of people build the wall and then it's human nature to get anxious because you can't see any more. Now you have a control centre in your kitchen instead of just being able to look out the window.

I'm skeptical that cameras have any effect on security. How is it supposed to work? Every time I've ever seen a crook on a camera it's the same thing - a guy wearing a hoodie, looking suspicious. B/M or a C/M, who knows, it's dark. What are you going to do with that? Tell your neighbourhood watch to be on the lookout for suspicious males? Lol. Now maybe if there's a proper crime like murder that someone might actually do some detective work on, some CCTV could be useful, but not on my house specifically.

As for deterrent effect, I think that's counteracted by the fact you've dropped 10s of grand on your perimeter in the first place. That just tells the professional housebreaking gang that you have some multiple of that worth going inside for. They can probably calculate it within a few Rand based on your very obvious signals. Then they go in with your wife in her car, on camera.

Consumer-grade CCTV cameras have very limited use in real time, but they are fantastic for trying to figure out what's happened after the fact. Just some of the things I use my cameras for:

1) Busting courier companies in their web of lies when they claim to have tried to deliver a package but nobody was at home. It's quite shocking how often this happens, but a simple check of my cameras confirms every time that they're lying.

2) Figuring out why something has moved when you know you put something in a particular place outside

3) Figuring out where my wheelie bin is on garbage collection day. Often the bin lorry guys will take your bin down the road and mix them up with other bins. I've got a unique mark on the bin, but my front cameras make it easy to see when and where it was moved to.

4) Keeping the kids honest - we have teenagers in the house who are almost old enough for us to go away for a weekend and leave them alone to look after the house. My network of cameras outside (don't have any indoors) will prevent any unauthorised party shenanigan's.

 

[noxibox]

We can see the yard from a window.

 

[backstreetboy]

No need. Reason number 672 why I prefer living in a flat.