CCTV Advice?

mne2

We've had a bit of trouble with car windows being broken and our driveway is at the back of our house (we live on a corner). Can anyone recommend a good but discrete CCTV camera which i could mount on the house somewhere to record movement on the driveway? I'm slightly worried that the models i've found will be useless to actually identify people as the driveway is a few metres beyond the end of the property.

Chr15_2

Maplins do some good kits now, dependant on external lighting it may be worth investing in one with IR. The best one to get is one which either has it's own hared drive or is connected to your computer (as opposed to the old VHS setup!)
You are looking in the region of £300-500 for a decent kit.A lot also come with sound. Please be mindful of the camera covering the public arena though. You can cover your property but anything where it will capture any public movement is a no no and would require authority under legislation.
Really the kit you can buy all depends on 'whats in your wallet'. It may be worth speaking to your local Neighbourhood Policing Team to see if they have any kit they can use. If its a persistant problem (Anti Social Behaviour) they may be able to offer some advice/assistance.

Lil306

Chr15 wrote: »

You are looking in the region of £300-500 for a decent kit.A lot also come with sound. Please be mindful of the camera covering the public arena though. You can cover your property but anything where it will capture any public movement is a no no and would require authority under legislation.
Really the kit you can buy all depends on 'whats in your wallet'. It may be worth speaking to your local Neighbourhood Policing Team to see if they have any kit they can use. If its a persistant problem (Anti Social Behaviour) they may be able to offer some advice/assistance.

An alternative is using a HDD, HD Quality Camcorder.

I've got a JVC Everio it picks up loads of quality, covers my car and quite a bit around it....I checked with the police and as long as it's aimed at your property and not directly at someone elses, it's allowed because it's a viewing area.

Don't take my word for it, best advice is to ask your law enforcement... I myself found out however that if I wanted I could record further up the street. The officer mentioned it's only illegal if I directly aim it at somebodys house (door, windows,etc) other than that the viewing angle allows you to see additional coverage, but it's not illegal in their eyes

I'd suggest the DIY approach and ask police if they have any equipment. I know the local council in my area have sound monitoring equipment, they may have video surveillance.

mne2

Cheers for the advice. We've spoken to Police and they said we would need to buy our own CCTV.

I've been looking around and have come across this: http://www.spycameracctv.com/spycamera/usb-receiver-wireless-day-night-infra-red-camera

Anyone used this company and have comments on their product?

Fifer73

We had similar problems last xmas,
some little yob had been going up the street and vandalising cars, my other half ended up having his car written off as they had put the window in broken the stearing colum and ripped the radio out.

We installed ( well had to get a sparky in to drill through the masonary brick to then get the camara up ) a yale wireless cctv colour system.
It still has a wire from the camera to the power source ( plug) but it is wireless box that connects to your tv
We chose the colour on as black and white doesnt give enough detail, and it triggers when someone goes past
here is details from yale site

http://www.yalelock.co.uk/en/yale/couk/ProductsDB/?groupId=247&productId=8016

I actually got mine from ebay for £90, but i would shop around if you think its for you

hope it helps

cit_k

Just had neighbours wanting to view footage, 3 scroats broke their window last night, second time it has happened to them this year, and third time this year in this street. Happened twice to us before also.

Doubt you would get much with that spy camera, unless they were close up to it. Good night time surveillance costs big money....

But something is better than nothing, at least it would let you keep an eye on what is going on outside so you can alert the authorities if you see anything kicking off on camera, even if it does not capture any recognisable faces, it will have helped to provide an overview of what happened.

Lil306

The thing about surveillance whether good or bad, acts as a deterrent because all the so called "tough people" are too scared to do anything incase you have solid proof

Nothing has happened to my car since I put the camera up

On a side note....has anyone ever watched footage what happens during the nighttime. My street is like the ghetto so theres always something happening, it's amazing what you see happening in the early hours :rotfl:

cit_k

Some are not bothered, I have had one person try to steal my camera.. Could not reach it though... Quite funny watching him..