In previous blogs, we have extensively covered all of the many reasons why having quality, well-maintained home security cameras can only be a benefit to the security of your home and family. These include the obvious, such as deterring would-be intruders, alerting the authorities should a break-in occur, and capturing crucial evidence to help secure a conviction against any offenders. There are other benefits of having home security cameras, such as keeping an eye on vulnerable family members, pets, or even teenagers when you’re not at home. Not to mention the general peace of mind that comes with knowing your home is protected with home security cameras.

But it is also worth pointing out all of the potential benefits to your community when you have exterior, street-facing home security cameras.

Home security cameras - car being keyed

You may have seen or read recently the spate of vandalism in the New Town area of Colchester. There have been several reports of vandals keying cars in the early hours of the morning, in fact just last week there were 17 different cars keyed on Old Heath Road in the same night. Such an aimless and spiteful act causes no end of grief for the unlucky owners of the cars affected, and for what reason? Absolutely no reason at all. This is why it is imperative that the perpetrators are apprehended by the local authorities and punished for causing so much pointless misery. Whilst some areas of the town are covered by CCTV, unfortunately, the area affected by this petty vandalism isn’t. But this is where there is some positivity in this story. After the incident was posted on a local resident’s Facebook group, many who were not affected by the actual crime have come forward with exterior CCTV footage from their home security cameras showing potential suspects. All of this footage has been passed onto the police who, fingers crossed, will be able to identify and apprehend the culprits based on this information. And should the perpetrators end up in court then this footage could well be crucial in securing a conviction.

As a resident of the New Town area myself, it makes me proud that my neighbours are so willing to come together to make the area safer for all. It shows great community spirit and sends a message to all would-be vandals that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. And all of this is possible because a few vigilant residents have been able to use their home security cameras for the greater good. When it comes to residential CCTV systems Colchester is lucky that so many considerate residents have quality exterior home security cameras capturing images from the front of their home. I firmly believe, as your local expert security system installer, Colchester and the surrounding community could benefit from even more residents having quality, exterior home security cameras. The neighbourhood can only benefit from this potential network of crimestoppers.

But if you do have quality home security cameras installed then there are a few things from a legal standpoint that you should be aware of, which I will explain below.

Data protection laws do apply to some users of domestic CCTV. These laws don’t apply if the cameras are only covering the owner’s private property, so the garden, side walkthroughs, and front lawn, etc. But should the cameras capture images outside of the owner’s property, so the street, for example, the data protection laws can apply. So as explained above, external home security cameras are great for keeping your neighbourhood safe, you do need to be careful about how you record and share footage. For a deeper understanding of how data protection laws could affect owners of external CCTV systems, I recommend taking a look at this government website.

 

Home security cameras and CCTV systems Colchester

 

As a professional CCTV installer, it will come as no surprise that I strongly recommend external CCTV as a great way of protecting your home. But as you now know, by having quality, external home security cameras, you are also doing your part for the community and keeping your neighbourhood safe. If you would like to discuss having quality CCTV installed in your home then I would love to talk with you. You can either email me by visiting my contact page, or you can call on 01206 209275.