HELP NEEDED! With sound recording.

Molly4

Good Evening

I hope this is not the wrong FORUM.

To cut a long story short I have been a victim of Anti-Social Behaviour and minor Crime at home for many, many years. The Police, Council and Housing Association associated with this area are not resolving the problems or supporting me as the victim.

I am now in the unenviable position of having to take my own legal action against the offenders. To do this I need solid evidence as the main issue is the extent of my problems and the effect it is having on my home life, health and well being are felt to be exaggerated by the authorities. A lot of what is happening is when I am away from home and at work but when I am at home it is ruining my life. I often have to flee my home to get away from the problems.

Whilst I try to raise the finance to possibly pursue legal action I want to be able to record the sounds of the anti social behaviour. I am looking for advice as to what sound recording device would be practical. I'm looking for something that will just activate and record when the problem is happening and not just keep recording 24/7. A device a bit like CCTV but just for sound only. I would need the device to be able to run 24/7 but just capture the sounds and not the silence. I hope you understand what I mean.

From a data protection angle anything I do record will be purely used for legal action via the courts and to prove to the authorities that the issue is real and not exaggerated.

I hope someone can advise me

LawAbiding

Why not install a single CCTV unit which records audio?

I have two "Reolink RLC-410W"'s installed. Both accept memory cards as the memory, do not require a DVR box for the recordings, and provide clear video and audio.

The audio has helped with hearing how loud others cars have banged into our cars, and the drivers saying it was only a slight "tap".

AndyMc.....

Two questions, what ASB are you suffering when at work that an audio recording would solve and secondly how do you propose to prove who's voice is on the audio recording?

that

The free iSpy software. it connects to a camera, and will use the microphone on a camera. It runs 24/7 on a pc. It can be triggered both by movement or sound level - meaning when it hear a sound it will record both the sound and the video, and vice versa.

the problem is a clear well defined wide angle shots - there are only so many pixels on a picture, and only so much bandwidth available - often either long and narrow pic with definition, or fuzzy and wide pic.

Night time filming? Filming in the rain/wind/sun - can be problematic

Still not many surveillance cameras can beat the cameras found on much older mobiles.

If you are using a mobile, as many have load of old one lying around, have a look on youtube as there are some good guides.

I copied this from my other post: It (edit:mobile phone) may give far better picture and videos than any web cam, even if that phone is 10 years old..... but only if the software will work on your version of android, or you may have to re-flash you phone to a newer version.

If you do not have a spare phone you most likely will have friends or relatives with a spare phone with a camera on it, but more likely they have a drawer full of phones.

You do not need a sim card to do this either.

probably the easiest is Alfred https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7h8L2zeLdE
another vid from 2:20 to 6:44 mins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua_aRyNSmww

This is the most succinct instructions I have seen, and is nearly complete in general instruction. What is missing is that the ispy should send an email and when it detects movement so you get the alert on your phone and can view it live. Also on movement it is able to run an external command, and also play a sound of your choice - barking dog, speaking Alexia, or telling the people to begone? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TlCTR9x3q0

here is one way to make your camera into a webcam and another phone as a receiver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJxz_M6tuJ4
and a more complex way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8m0uy8V3nw

I am not going to tell you that what you are doing could be nigh impossible, but probably will be challenging.

Molly4

I am a mature female who lives alone. I live in an end terrace house which I own. Attached to my house is a block of Housing Association garages. To the rear of my house is another house with a similar set up. Between the two houses and garage blocks are steps leading up to a lane than runs along the rear of the terrace of houses.

People of all ages from young teens right up to middle age adults use the garage doors, steps and lane to batter the hell out of with footballs and other implements. When they miss their target the footballs and other implements which include rocks and metal poles end up on the garage block roof and in my garden. Those responsible will then get up on the garage block roof to retrieve what has gone up there or force their way into my garden which I have made as secure as possible to do the same. Often the "trespassers" will continue to play on the garage block roof and use my house wall as a target. I have thousands of pounds of damage to the render on my house wall caused by impact. One event that sticks in my mind was during the 2012 Olympics when the garage block roof attached to my house was used as a VELODROME with about 10 people taking it in turn to ride the bike on the roof.

The other house in the same position does not experience the same level of problems that I do because the family at the address are some of the offenders for anti-social behaviour and subsequent damage to my property.

I believe I am being targeted because I am a lone female. I work full time so spend a lot of time away from home when a lot of the anti-social behaviour is happening. The Housing Association put up barriers on the ends of the garage block roofs to stop people getting up but this did not work because it gave the offenders hand holds to assit them. When those barriers are hit with the footballs and implements my house vibrates and there is cracking to the external render and internal plaster on my house from the vibration.

Due to the layout of my house and the garage block CCTV installed in my garden would only capture footage when said persons were on the garage block roof and would not capture the full extent of the problem. Whereas sound recording would capture the sound of the bombardment, trespass and damage being caused.

Before anyone comments "It's only football" Try to imagine the sound of several metal up and over garage doors being pounded, battered and hit for hours on end, day after day, week after week and continuing. In the height of summer this can be 12 hours a day. All I want to do is live a normal life in my own home and experience the sounds of normal living around me.

There is a very large community playing field/recreation area 2 minutes walk from here. Do they use it? NO!

that

before you buy anything I think you should test the camera of your phone out. This will show you the limitations of cameras before buying.

Night time Infra red led often do not go further than 10m, and even then would be hard to identify anybody specifically by their face. Had mediocre success at 5m with ir and I could identify the person,

yes you do get better cameras, ir lighting but the cost soon rises. We have al seen theo flir night cameas in Police helicopters tv show, but think they cost more than £100. A £500 pound diy setup is not unusual, but a bit steep an still not sure if it will fulfil your needs

I would probably get some gripfill and be glueing some barbed wire onto the roof in stripes and wrapping it around barriers

Good luck in the filming of under age boys

Molly4

I do not want to film anyone. I do not want to identify any individuals by voices. I just want to capture the sounds of criminal damage and anti-social behaviour to prove to the authorities the extent of the problem. If I were allowed to take images I would be capturing adults aged 20, 30 and even 40+both male and female!

I suppose if I were able to capture one hours sound recording I could go to the authorities and say "This is what has been happening over 300 days a year for sometimes up to 12 hours a day for many, many years" and they might accept that as evidence.

AndyMc.....

molly57. wrote: »

I do not want to film anyone. I do not want to identify any individuals by voices. I just want to capture the sounds of criminal damage and anti-social behaviour to prove to the authorities the extent of the problem. If I were allowed to take images I would be capturing adults aged 20, 30 and even 40+both male and female!

I suppose if I were able to capture one hours sound recording I could go to the authorities and say "This is what has been happening over 300 days a year for sometimes up to 12 hours a day for many, many years" and they might accept that as evidence.

What outcome do you want?

that

AndyMc..... wrote: »

What outcome do you want?

I agree with AndyMc....., you just want sound? no video, no time stamp, no context, no proof of location? sorry but I think there will be no validity, and you will end up with a recording of sound effects from which no one can even get the actual noise level measured in db/m.

Unless you video the person doing it, it could be anyone, including you. you could have a sound effect CD there playing in the background

If it is just noise, the council should have a noise abatement team that will have a special instruments to record the noise level, duration and time and they also give it validity.

if it is antisocial, then it is video possibly with noise measurements.

Why not just set you phone to record mode and see what it picks up, but the question is which room was it in, how close to the window was it, was the window open, etc. and even then they do not know how loud it was.

Norman_Castle

OP Most phones can record sound however many cannot hear sound or cut out below a certain volume. A digital dictaphone may work assuming it doesn't cut out at low volumes. An external microphone can make a big difference.

The recordings you make cannot be used as evidence but may prompt either the council or the HA to take more interest.

Keep a noise diary. Not just as evidence but for yourself. I've had noise problems in the past and looking at the diary now makes me wonder how I stayed sane.

The Housing Association put up barriers on the ends of the garage block roofs to stop people getting up but this did not work because it gave the offenders hand holds to assit them. When those barriers are hit with the footballs and implements my house vibrates and there is cracking to the external render and internal plaster on my house from the vibration.

If these were supported without being attached to your house this would lessen the noise and stop this damage. Did you agree to them being fixed to your house? Ask the HA to remove the connection between these and your house.

Molly4

Good Evening
Thank you all for your comments and input. Let me work my way through each posting.

The garage block and barriers belong to the Housing Association so I cannot attach anything to them. I have thought about barbed wire on my own fencing but if anyone gets injured even though they are trespassing to commit anti-social behaviour and crime I would be prosecuted. The barriers are attached to the garage block roof and not my property so I have no say in the matter. The barriers do block my view and have devalued my property.

Environmental Health deal with noise issues but because the noise is caused by Anti-Social Behaviour and Crime they won't deal.

I believe most camera phones and dictaphone these days will date and time stamp the image or recording. If I do capture images of people I can't see that being acceptable to the offenders and I could then become a victim of a more serious crime!

What I want from this is some form of proof of what I am experiencing. For the authorities to take me seriously and believe I am not exaggerating as they are currently not accepting my spoken and written words. The Housing Association need to take more responsibility because it is their property that is being used to assist those responsible in their endeavours. I want to go to the authorities and say "Listen to this. Now imagine that happening sometimes 12 hours a day and so on..........

I leave home when I don't need too or want to. Whilst I'm away I dread coming home. I look forward to dark evenings and bad weather just to be able to live a normal life in my own home!