In Reality, What Good Is a Home Security Camera Setup?

FabMan on 17/07/2024 - 16:06
Last edited 17/07/2024 - 22:34

With the Amazon Prime Day sale, I looked up Ring cameras and saw that they are on sale. So, I am considering getting one but then I wonder what benefit they actually have. If my house is broken into, does the insurance company not pay out if I don't have insurance cameras? Surely, they still would. If the thieves wear a simple mask around their face, it can't be used to identify them in court, and if they don't, I'd have to have it at face level to capture their face and not the top of their heads.

So, what benefit does it actually bring or is it just for piece peace of mind?

-Update-
Looks like cameras aren't that useful.

-EDIT-
English bad, midnight shifts and tired.

Electrical & Electronics Security Camera

Comments

    • gromit on 18/07/2024 - 08:43
      +3

      any thief not deterred by cameras isn't going to be deterred by any lock you purchase either.

      • OZKap on 18/07/2024 - 11:28
        +3

        "oh no they've got an unpickable 7-pin lock. Oh well I guess I'll just smash a massive single-glazed grass pane bedroom window like I was planning to do anyway"

        • gromit on 18/07/2024 - 12:57
          +1

          exactly. or a nice kick to the doorframe, or entering through garage or through roof etc etc. unless you turn your house into a fortress anything beyond relatively basic locks is useless. At least a camera adds a deterent.

        • Mikeer on 18/07/2024 - 20:07
          +2

          "we've got a nice click on pin 4" - said no thief ever

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 19/07/2024 - 14:45
          -1

          Locks AND security.

          • OZKap on 19/07/2024 - 16:14

            @Typical16-bitEnjoyer: Ah yes, the very specific "security", lemme just browse my local hardware store for "security", buy some "security" during prime day.

            • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 20/07/2024 - 10:40
              -1

              @OZKap: Ah yes, because I'm supposed to know everyones case deficiencies.

              You can't break into my place kicking in a door or throwing a brick. Perhaps start there if they can at your place.

              • gromit on 24/07/2024 - 18:01

                @Typical16-bitEnjoyer: Not everyone has 10's of thousands of dollars to put in steel door and window frames as well as security shutters on all the doors and security mesh throughout the roof. most people will take a few hundred or thousand on cameras as opposed to 50k+ to make a house secure.

  • pdperth on 18/07/2024 - 08:29
    +4

    It's good to look at your property when not there. Check on deliveries, meter readers etc. Check on dogs, relatives. Burglary too but secondary.

  • gromit on 18/07/2024 - 08:42

    Like locks on doors, security cameras deter the opportunistic thieves. many thieves are just looking for an easy mark and a security camera that means they are slightly more likely to be caught is off putting.

  • EBC on 18/07/2024 - 08:55
    +6

    Mine are for watching the possums eat my tomatoes mostly.

    • OZKap on 18/07/2024 - 11:29

      Hope police helps you catch those reprehensible criminals

  • Sinnerator on 18/07/2024 - 08:58
    +2

    thief walked thru open doors in neighbours house late 2022
    stole wallet phone laptop
    was seen on cctv a few hours later by police, using credit card at bottleshop, not even wearing covid mask
    thief did not care about cameras

    this thief was not a pro

    • eek on 19/07/2024 - 17:24

      Did the police do anything about it? Thief likely was not caught let alone punished. Petty crime pays well in Australia.

  • TightAl on 18/07/2024 - 09:07

    You'll need sensors really, a friend of mines alarm will trigger if you move so much as a step inside his premises in every room + cameras all around.
    At least they'll MAYBE panic and rush to do what they do limiting your losses

  • Lastchancetosee on 18/07/2024 - 09:09
    +1

    Weve got a Ring with camera on our front door. Probably doesn't deter someone really determined to break in, but (a) it's handy for deliveries when you're not home, and (b) a few of us with cameras picked up two youths trying doors one night, and we were able to show the footage to the police who chased them up. One non-negotiable was high security wire doors (can't recall the brand).

  • Benoffie on 18/07/2024 - 09:36
    +2

    Been broken into 3 times. Didnt have cameras at the time but got them afterwards. The neighbour had them and caught the bugger jumping the back fence, face as clear as day. Police arrested him with 3 days as they knew who he was.

    They are good as a deterant, for evidence and for you to monitor your own property. They'll never stop determined aholes.

  • Archi on 18/07/2024 - 09:36

    any type of home security is a deterrent, it will not stop someone from breaking in if they really wanted to.

    my personal view is bold, loud and obvious enough to deter any would be thief from breaking a window or damaging a door is the primary objective,

    no point in having motion sensors and cameras inside your house, in order for the alarm to trigger the thief has already broken something to be inside your home, and that costs money to replace or repair. you want to avoid that,

    the goal is stop the thief from breaking something, so camera in an obvious position, sensor lights in the right places, motion sensors outside would be my recomendation

    if you research how much it cost to replace a glass sliding door, your security cameras would be cheap,

    • being able to record and view footage on security cameras is a great feature especially if you have pets.
    • i have had a couple of construction sites around me over the years.. being able to see the street, front yard and drive way was a invaluable, inherently some people just don't care for your property. i've helped the neighbour view footage of his front tap being reversed over by a tradie,
    • intrusion alerts are great when your expecting or not expecting guests or visitors,.
  • Pufff on 18/07/2024 - 10:16

    It's good for Amazon to watch you.

    • plmko on 18/07/2024 - 11:04

      I prefer Uncle Xi, but understand some prefer being watched by a country we have an extradition treaty with.

      • gromit on 18/07/2024 - 18:00

        yeah it is one thing I have never understood with peoples mindset. If someone is going to spy on me I would much prefer it is the Russians or Chinese etc. They can't call the AFP and send them over to arrest and extradite me.

  • happylime on 18/07/2024 - 10:37

    Security alarms and perimeter sensor floodlights have a much higher likelihood of scaring burglars

  • Blargman2001 on 18/07/2024 - 10:54
    +1

    Cameras are only a deterrent and offer peace of mind. Only thing that might make a difference is a loud, visible alarm system that is monitored. It might not stop them breaking in, but it will hurry them up once it goes off, so hopefully they leave before they can take too many valuables. Ideally you'd have both in addition to a gate, security doors and a dog to create a multilayered security system.

  • Barrj46 on 18/07/2024 - 12:16
    +1

    Have had motion sensing video cameras installed following a stealing incident last year.

    Two weeks ago (during school holidays) several properties in our street were broken into. Our video cameras captured the thieves as they moved from house to house (can view about half the street from the driveway cam). On entering our property, the motion sensing camera started flashing (and a pre recorded message plays indicating they are under observation). The thieves quickly departed our property without stealing or breaking in.

    Proved worthwhile in this incident.

    • FabMan on 18/07/2024 - 14:23

      Thanks for that feedback.

  • Sensiekatie on 18/07/2024 - 14:42
    +4

    We were not broken into. However the house sitter (who had a National police check, references, and worked in aged care as a RN) had 3 weeks to thoroughly comb through the house looking for the right things. In the end, she got into the safe and that's where the majority of stuff came from.

    Our doorbell video footage was able to show the police who entered the house in that period with good facial images and voice recorded. The perimeter footage - even though they had partially blocked 2 and 1 of the vehicles was not even registered - showed number plates of vehicles parked here for the duration (2 of which did not have our permission - a caravan and a campervan). Only 1 of those had an actual current registration in the person's real name and that's how they got her. Funnily enough it was the unregistered campervan that finally tracked her down because she moved from housesit to housesit. A neighbour complained about this vehicle parked in their street and not moving for weeks. So surveillance footage allowed the police to identify and find her.

    As it turned out, this person had bank accounts in 8 different names (how they could do that I have no idea) and she had an extensive criminal record. She was also wanted in NSW and Qld. How she got a clear criminal history for work in aged care I do not know. However those captured videos proved she was the housesitter as she was totally uncooperative with the police. Fast forward 1 year and she was caught selling stolen items at a pawn shop but sadly not my items. Oh and insurance … Sorry but it isn't theft according to them because she was here with our permission. I didn't have the energy to fight that. They denied it before the claims process was even finished.

    • FabMan on 18/07/2024 - 14:48

      Damn, sounds like a crap situation. Thanks for sharing.

    • Hangryuman on 18/07/2024 - 16:08
      +2

      'insurance … Sorry but it isn't theft according to them because she was here with our permission'

      yeah - same happened to me - tenant trashed the place - insurer denied malicious damage claim as they said guests and invitees were excluded - deliberate damage by guests was not covered.

      so look out for that from your friendly insurer - who will cover everything you don't need, while carefully excluding what you actually will.

      • psdillon on 19/07/2024 - 09:05

        Name and shame the insurer so we can avoid!

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 20/07/2024 - 11:05
          +1

          Literally everyone insurer won't cover that scenario.

  • juzza87 on 18/07/2024 - 16:00
    +1

    Current uses:

    • Visual deterrent for burglars (they will rob my neighbours house that doesn't have cameras instead).
    • Make sure I've closed the garage door.
    • Twice captured the garbage truck eating my bins.

    Future uses when I get around to it:

    • Automatic License Plate Recognition - can get notified when known cars are in the driveway (relatives, couriers, etc.), combine it into some sort of routine so when I get home (x time period), my mobile phone is connected to the Wi-Fi and it sees my number plate it automatically opens the garage door.
    • AI to notify when the postie stops in front of the house.
    • Motion detection zones to trigger halloween/christmas decorations.

  • Hangryuman on 18/07/2024 - 16:04

    our CCTV caught one guy with a distinctive walk - bit of an idiot (criminals are not normally the brightest bulbs in the pack) - walked past our cameras without covering his face, then came back soon after with his face covered - same clothes, body shape, distinctive walk - and did the break-in and theft.

    cops provided with the material distributed it around their network - I'm guessing someone recognised the guy's distinctive walk - and face ! - and last I heard he was back in jail.

  • Hangryuman on 18/07/2024 - 16:11

    from YouTube videos it seems to me the fun of things like Ring cameras is if movement sends an alert to your smartphone, where from the other side of the world if you see an unwanted intruder, you can speak into your phone and have your voice come out of the device at the door - "HEY ! YOU ! GTFO ! The Police Have Been Called !"

    seen a few running from that kinda thing

  • rocmelon on 18/07/2024 - 17:18
    +1

    Now that the non / benefits have been discussed.
    Whats a good cheap camera from temu or Aliexpress to have ???

  • BobCobb on 18/07/2024 - 17:24
    +2

    80% comfort. 20% deterrent.

  • FlyingMiffy on 18/07/2024 - 19:13

    Dont underestimate the impact of a visible deterrent and the value of peace of mind. For a few hundred bucks on an asset worth over a million - why wont you?

  • Piratarzt on 18/07/2024 - 21:16
    +2

    We had someone do roofing recently. Part of the quote included 1k of something that our cameras clearly showed didn't happen. We got 1k off the final cost.

  • csider on 19/07/2024 - 08:53
    +2

    Story time.

    My in laws have a bunch of cameras set up around the perimeter of their house. They turned on the option where if motion is detected, spotlight turns on and a computer voice goes "hello, you are being recorded". Everyone told them that was OTT.

    Few months back at 4am, 3 people were attempting to scale their side fence with full intent to steal shit/break in. They got to the top of the fence (imagine a brick fence where you can sit on the top) with feet dangling onto their side of the property when suddenly the spotlights turned on and the voice triggered.

    Clearly they were already skiddish, but they flipped out and all 3 of them jumped off the fence and drove off.

    That is why you have cameras/some sort of deterrence.

    • OrangeBJ on 19/07/2024 - 11:44
      +1

      Can it distinguish between human and animals? Just imagine a chubby possums got an heart attack.

  • psdillon on 19/07/2024 - 09:05
    +3

    When I installed security cameras the benefit was immediate: no more people letting their dogs poop on our nature strip.

    • jackspratt on 19/07/2024 - 15:49

      Seems to be an expensive solution for a minor problem.

  • OrangeBJ on 19/07/2024 - 11:26
    +1

    My old NVR HIK vision is very noisy, especially at night time. Cameras connected to NVR via PoE. Can I swap to a less noise NVR without replacing all cameras?

  • jerjergege on 19/07/2024 - 12:14
    +1

    Ubiquiti.

  • hopper on 19/07/2024 - 14:29
    +1

    swan HD NVR cameras around and inside house (To keep eye on my Autistic kid all the time). I don't care about robbery as i'm broke already.

  • PerthMan96 on 19/07/2024 - 16:03
    +1

    Hardwired only, if you want do to it properly, even better with backup power or an internet source like 5g, no point having a wireless camera system if someone is to do something worth having surveillance of when the power or WIFI doesn't work……
    someone could simply turn your power off and you suddenly have no CCTV.

    another must is something like an Arlo Floodlight camera. One thing that will stop a stupid criminal as a bright light in the middle of the dark night. the light is so bright they wont even know a camera is their. just make sure its out of reach because anyone can just take arlos and ring's off walls.

    having the wireless and BATTERY OPERATED wireless NVR device means that if power and wifi is out, atleast this can still work and floodlight the intruder.

  • R4 on 19/07/2024 - 19:40
    +1

    We have cameras outside covering the entries to our property but I won't have them in the house.

  • bowdo on 19/07/2024 - 21:58
    +1

    The cameras on the front of my house helped put a rapist in jail by placing him near the location. They've also provided evidence for several car break ins (although police have far less interest pursuing). Most of my neighbours have cameras and we stay in touch and look out for each other which is probably the biggest deterrence for crooks.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/07/2024 - 21:59

    This is Australia, just buy insurance

  • AuQld on 20/07/2024 - 10:52

    Dahua, have 6 cameras going 24hrs never an issue with the NVR.

    I don't think the ai tech is currently functional in any of them to the point of getting alerts every time, moving shadows, sunshine, animals still set them off.

    It's great to check on things, I have an alarm sensors on every window. I would recommend you get that instead bosch security system 3000, app hasn't let me down in 8 years. And just stick a few WiFi cameras around

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 20/07/2024 - 11:06

    Looks like the majority use their cameras as a "visual" deterrent. That's even worse. They'll either avoid line of sight of your cameras, destroy them or likely steal them.

  • AustriaBargain on 20/07/2024 - 14:47
    +1

    Put one in your bedroom and you can capture the look on your housemate's face when they go in there and start going through your stuff and then notice the camera.

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