Where to Place Outdoor Surveillance Cameras

Where to Place Outdoor Surveillance Cameras

Where to Place Outdoor Surveillance Cameras

Where to Place Outdoor Surveillance Cameras

Want to know where to place your outdoor surveillance cameras for the best impact? We have the details you need here to protect your business.

Keyword(s): outdoor surveillance cameras

 

Has your business or home been the victim of a burglary? Are you having trouble with vandalism at your workplace? Are crime rates going up in your neighborhood?

All of these are good reasons to look into outdoor security cameras.

Almost 2,500 properties out of every 100,000 are burgled every year. This costs the country $14 billion!

This article will look at the benefits of outdoor surveillance cameras and help you determine the most effective placements for them.

Benefits of Outdoor Surveillance Cameras

There are several benefits to using outdoor security cameras.

First, they increase the safety and security of your business. This can be because criminals see the cameras and are less likely to try something. Or it may be because you catch anyone who does anything to your business, so criminals stop coming around.

Outdoor surveillance cameras can also be good for watching customers as well. If someone comes into your store and causes problems, you've got them on tape.

Also, you can keep an eye out for people you know are going to cause issues and escort them out as soon as they try to come in.

It's always good to have a record of people who enter and exit your business. This can be used for counting customers or trying to identify who has stolen an item.

Cameras are also a great way to make sure your employees are coming to work on time and not leaving early. We all know that even if time clocks are used, there are ways to trick them. Cameras can keep your employees honest.

Entry/Exit cameras are the best way to catch people's faces on camera. This can be helpful if you need to identify someone who has caused problems in your establishment.

Once you've identified the person, you can press charges with the police or just make sure the person never comes into your business again.

Where to Monitor with Surveillance Cameras

Before you place your outdoor surveillance cameras, you want to make sure you know exactly where you need to monitor.

Identify problem areas of your business before you set up cameras. Do you have blind spots? Is your parking lot poorly lit? Do you have an unmonitored back door?

Parking lots, alleys, and dumpsters are also great places to monitor with outdoor surveillance cameras. They are known to have a lot of crime because they have less visibility.

Many employees steal by throwing merchandise in the dumpster and getting it at the end of the day. A well-placed security camera can catch them.

If you have a loading bay or garage area, these are great places to set up cameras. These areas can be easier to break into unnoticed and sometimes goods can even be snuck out through them during business hours.

Cameras can be a great deterrent for this type of crime or can catch criminals in the act.

Any places that are unmonitored or dimly lit are great places for surveillance cameras.

Technical Placement Considerations

The most important thing to consider in placing your outdoor surveillance cameras is what you want to capture. You will put them in different places if you are trying to keep an eye on your parking lot, the street, or your front door.

As far as height is concerned, the general rule of thumb is to put cameras about nine feet off the ground. This keeps people from reaching them, but they are still close enough to capture people's faces.

The sun plays a major role in the placement of your outdoor surveillance camera. If your business faces east or west, the sun will be directly shining into the camera in the morning or afternoon. This can make it difficult to capture faces.

Turning your camera with the lens towards the door of your business keeps the sun glare from interfering with your shot of entries and exits. Keep in mind though, that this might be less of a deterrent to criminals since it's pointing in, not out.

While we're talking about lighting, you also want to consider how much you have at night. Floodlights are great criminal deterrents, and they can also allow your camera to film better in the dark.

If you don't have great lighting, make sure you have a security camera that captures good night footage.

Make sure you place your cameras without objects blocking their view. You don't want to have to have half of your shot of the parking lot blocked by a pole.

Placing monitors near your doors can also be a good way to deter potential criminals. If you place your camera near the monitor, you will get great facial shots as people lean in to look at the monitor.

You also want to consider your cameras use as deterrents. Do you want people to see them and know they're being filmed? One study found that 60% of burglars didn't break into a building because it had a security camera.

If so, placing cameras in obvious locations near the entrance and walkway will let people know they're being watched.

Sometimes, you may not want people to know they're on camera because you want to catch them doing something. In this case, you'll need to place your outdoor surveillance cameras more secretively.

Other Considerations

You may want to protect your cameras from rocks or other vandalism. A mesh cover can take care of this, but make sure it doesn't block your view.

Also, consider the reach of your wifi. Your signal is probably weaker the further you go from your building. Make sure your camera works well on a weaker signal or move it closer to the building.

While we're talking about wifi, make sure your network is password protected with a strong password. Otherwise, anyone can hack in and access your security cameras.

Getting Started

Now that you know the uses of security cameras and how to place them, it's time to look into a full surveillance system.

Check out this article on small business surveillance.

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