Looking For A Home Security Camera? This Works Best For Police
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Dec 6, 2022
Security cameras are almost everywhere. from doorbell cameras to the highest tech multi camera system. Every second, they are recording criminals breaking the law. From stealing a candy bar to robbing a bank. A lot of people are thinking about getting a system but are a bit apprehensive about getting one.
“It should be 4K- Hi-Def and should be able to record in low light and get a good image”, said Detective Glenn Vandegrift of the Bensalem Twp. Police Department. The last thing you want is to record unusable video of a person stealing from you. Cheaper cameras, or refurbished equipment from the 1990’s or early 2000’s may be less expensive but you get what you pay for.
Police released this video this week. The camera quality is poor.
Police usually can blow up an image to enhance a face. “If there is no information ( pixels) it’s not going to blow up well at all,”Vandegrift said. Cameras set to record when motion is detected are great. It saves space. You can set it to trigger to record people that way stray cats and other animals are not setting off your equipment.
Good video of a criminal in Philadelphia. Cameras do not have to be color to be good.
Once it is installed, you should register your equipment with the local police. Most police departments have them. It lets officers know you have a camera system and may save time when searching for a criminal. Say they are looking for a child rapist that struck two blocks from your place. Police will canvass the area and know you have footage. Let them see it. They are trained and can determine if the suspect walked by your place or parked a vehicle.
Even if you read about the crime nearby, your first instinct is to check your cameras. You might not see anything. That is important. If police are tracking the bad guy and they saw footage from the next block of the suspect in your area, the fact that nothing of interest appears on your video helps then narrow down as to where they could have gone.
An example of good camera technology from a robbery several years ago.
If you have the money, record audio as well. “Jason, the silverware is already loaded up” That tells the police that there is a very good probability that one of the perps could be named “Jason”. The thief could also take a phone call or utter something usable for the police to track him down.
When a crime happens to your or nearby, most of time, you have no idea of who the criminal is. The camera that catches the crime in progress is great. However, where did the criminal go? Did they leave on foot, or park a car down the block. That is why it is so important to let the authorities know you have something. Your camera recorded a male who has never been in the vehicle before leave in a blue SUV. The camera down the block also caught that SUV and has a tag. In Bensalem, detectives used extensive tracking to arrest Joseph O’Boyle for the murder of a doctor.
Years before, Chester County authorities used cameras to track down the male that shot a female to death during a road rage incident. Once you get equipment, get it installed by a professional and maintain your camera system. Cameras record to a storage device. They days of using VHS tapes are over.