HowToSurveillance Blog

Brownstone Security is proud to introduce new license plate capturing day and night security camera BTS-MIR83122HQDN.
License Plate Capture Camera has 8 manual shutter speed control, and according to your needs, the shutter can be adjusted to auto or manual electronic shutters. The speed range of the camera is from 1/50 sec to 1/100,000 sec, so this can achieve reliable license plate recognition. Adopting with SONY HQ1 DSP and Exview HAD CCD the resolution hits 540 TV lines, with 0.05 LUX. It also has a built-in Mechanical IR Cut Filter; the cameras can automatically switch from Color to B/W mode, when the illumination is under 2 Lux.
This security camera can be easily added to existing surveillance systems and can be integrated with Brownstone’s MSGV Series license plate recognition system.
Brownstone Security provides a variety of cameras and DVRs, serving retail, hospitality, manufacturing, commercial, industrial, healthcare, and government industries. If you would like additional information or a demo, please call 310-297-3605 or visit:
www.brownstoneps.com

Law suits arising related to school laptops equipped with webcams. Internet protocol (IP) enabled webcams allow remote viewing of a webcam and may push the frontiers of surveillance law:

CNN Article on School Laptop Webcam Spying

The huge budget deficit in the City of Phoenix, Arizona is now impacting public safety as some 350 police officers and 144 firefighters are set to be laid off. Municipalities across the country are dealing with the budget cutbacks due to revenue declines in the wake of the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression. However, the budget problems in Phoenix are especially severe resulting in the first layoff of police officers in the history of the city.

The Phoenix metro area has been hit especially hard by the mortgage downturn (one of the top 5 worst areas in the U.S. for foreclosures) and the ripple effect throughout the economy has resulted in drastically lower tax revenue.

Cops laid off? That almost never happens! This is really ugly folks and will almost certainly affect response times of police officers due to the fact that fewer officers will be available to cover the same area.

If this trend continues, security camera systems may be more necessary than ever. Why? If a crime occurs at your business, officers need something to go on and video surveillance footage is very helpful. Without it, they might, at best, get a vague or indefinite suspect or vehicle description from someone who happened to witness the crime.

However, with fewer officers to pursue investigations, they will need all the help they can get, and video surveillance can provide that extra help that can make the difference in solving a crime or not.

Article and News Video on Police Layoffs from ABC 15 Here:
Phoenix Police Dept. to Lay Off Hundreds of Officers

America’s Most Wanted broadcast some video recorded by a home security camera system (recorded Oct. 2006) showing the vehicle that is possibly driven by the Northern California (Nor Cal) rapist.
Video Surveillance of Toyota linked to Nor Cal Rapist

More video stills from ATM CCTV cameras are here: Nor Cal Rapist Stills

Full Story: Nor Cal Rapist Info

Combining an alarm system with a CCTV system can provide a synergistic security solution with a ‘force-multiplier’ effect.

The security benefits of an alarm system can be enhanced with the use of a monitored video surveillance system. Alarm systems can alert security personnel to a problem (e.g. intrusion, fire etc.) and assist them in making an appropriate and rapid response. Having CCTV cameras at various locations of your business allows security personnel to quickly monitor a wide range of locations in response to an alarm trigger. This helps to cover a large area and improve the efficiency of security operations (force multiplier). Read the full article (provided by Brownstone Security) at:

Combining Alarm Systems with Video Surveillance

I found a great new online CCTV lens selection tool that provides a really quick and easy way to get an idea of the magnification and field of view for a variety of security camera lenses. It shows actual images for various focal length lenses which can really help you get an idea of the field of view and magnification of a particular focal length. This can help greatly in selecting the best focal length for your security camera. You can access the lens tool here at Apex CCTV:

Lens Comparison Tool

Of course you can also use our lens calculator at HowToSurveillance.com and we also have sample video of various focal length lenses, but I found the Apex CCTV lens tool to be very quick and easy to use.

Rob

Here’s a useful glossary of the most commonly used CCTV, video surveillance terminology provided courtesy of Brownstone Security.
CCTV Glossary

Remote video monitoring involves the use of a video surveillance system that is actively monitored by professional security personnel who can dispatch the appropriate response (e.g. fire, police, security guard) to a particular security threat. Modern security camera systems allow an area to be remotely viewed from another location via IP transmission (internet protocol).

Coupled with sensors and alarms, a monitored video security camera system is almost like having a 24-hour security guard on site. In fact, remote viewing allows security personnel to monitor multiple cameras simultaneously, allowing multiple areas to be watched, thereby expanding the capabilities of the security guard.

Professionally monitored video security systems are becoming more common place as the technology advances and the cost decreases relative to the benefits. An excellent article on remote video monitoring can be found here:
Remote Video Monitoring

Learn how video surveillance can be integrated at the ‘point of sale’ to prevent theft and fraud.

Point of Sale (POS) and video surveillance systems serve important purposes on their own; however, integrating your POS system with a video surveillance system can help to prevent several types of losses and/or liabilities from happening to restaurant/hotel/retail owners including:

1. Fraudulent credit card use – the video record of the transaction can be used to identify the person presenting and using the credit card. This will not only help to deter fraudulent credit card use but will also assist law enforcement in the prosecution of the thieves if a crime is committed.

2. Fraudulent credit card denials – the video record of the transaction will prevent customers from challenging their credit card transactions at a later date.

3. Employee theft – the video record of the transaction, or lack of transaction, can be used to identify multiple types of employee theft including failing to charge for items, undercharging for items, overcharging for items and direct theft of money from the cash drawer.

In order for the integration of a POS with video surveillance to be effective there are several items that must be taken into account:
Read the Entire Article Here

Many companies use video surveillance systems (VSS) to deter or catch theft and other criminal activity. What many businesses fail to realize is that this is not the only benefit of video surveillance; in many cases it may not even be the primary benefit of video surveillance. In today’s business environment there are many potential liabilities that business owners and executives must be worried about including liabilities related to employee injuries, customer injuries, employee and customer complaints, and damage to property. VSS can be used to limit liabilities in the following seven ways:
Read the entire article here