Are you considering installing CCTV at your business? CCTV can be an extremely powerful tool for securing your company, but it's important that you do it right. The range of security camera options is seemingly endless so it makes sense to gather as much information as possible before you make your decision.
Here are some tips for using CCTV for your business security:
Put up obvious signage
One of the more important aspects of CCTV is to understand that it serves multiple purposes. Many companies assume that CCTV is used only to ensure that they have footage of any crime if one were to take place. But it can actually be valuable to have a camera system in place to act as a deterrent for criminal behavior.
When a criminal sees that your business has CCTV in operation, they will stop considering you a target—understanding that you have put defenses in place to keep your company secure. It's vital, then, to put signage in place to remind anyone on your property that they're on camera.
Don’t use it to spy on employees
It can be tempting for a business to use its CCTV for purposes such as keeping track of employees—ensuring that they're working throughout the day and monitoring their productivity. However, doing so is a breach of the Human Rights Act and the Data Protection Act, which put specific restrictions in place regarding the monitoring of employees with CCTV.
CCTV should be used to ensure that everyone on the premises is safe and watched over—not considered a snooping tool for employers who are keen on higher productivity levels.
Combine CCTV with other physical security
CCTV is a very powerful tool for business security; however, it's not something that should be used in isolation. The cameras will certainly act as a deterrent, but businesses also need to invest in physical defenses such as internal door locking mechanisms, security guards, and even concrete barriers to prevent unauthorized access to company parking lots and more.
It's important to think of CCTV as a good way to show criminals you're serious, but also as a last resort in terms of reporting those who have committed the crime. Other security measures can be combined to give you better overall protection.
Consider all of the options
There are many different factors to consider when you are planning to install a CCTV system. First, how much are you going to spend on your cameras? There's a huge range of options with different quality and resolution available.
Are you going to have constant monitoring from the camera? Perhaps motion-activated sensors would be preferred. Also, you may wish to reduce the amount of storage space required to store the video and images. You could do this by only having short bursts filmed at a time.
It's also important to consider factors such as framerate, lighting, audio, and more. These can affect the cost of your system but also how effective it is. You need to find a balance here that's most appropriate for your business.
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Cloud storage makes a lot of sense
You also need to consider where you're going to store your camera recordings. You may need to have a private server installed in-house to manage all of the recording files. CCTV cameras can have extremely large file sizes, and if you're planning to store the footage for a significant period of time, you'll need a lot of space.
It could make a lot of sense for you to use cloud storage facilities. With this space, you can simply pay for the amount that you're using. It also takes away the problem of having to deal with the management of the server or creating backups, as all of this is managed for you.
Final thought
It's worth investing properly in a system that's going to keep your business protected—a cheap CCTV system may look the part, but if it doesn’t offer strong protection when you really need it then it's a false economy.
