Weekly Tips on Securing your Home and Place of Business
In this day and age just about everywhere you go you see cameras. Instead of seeing cameras as a violation of our privacy, we need to explore the other side.
It just wouldn’t be wise to not use the cameras to solve and prevent crimes. Time and time again, cameras have proven how useful they are, from solving the local convenience store robbery to identifying suspected child abductors when seconds count.
What you may not even realize is how often security camera footage is relied upon. They cannot lie, they don’t forget, they are unbiased and have unimaginable capabilities to accurately unveil the truth.
Security Footage of Boston Bombing Suspects
After the Boston Bombing, the first thing most people think of (and the first thing the authorities think of) is to look for security camera footage. Common sense tells you when it comes to catching the people responsible, security cameras are going to be fast and accurate.
The big brother theory is really overkill. I would bet the authorities aren’t going to spend needless time watching Joe Schmoe eat his favorite candy bar. But if Joe was to be involved in some type of crime, well then the camera footage can convict him or set him free. Which leads me to another point, if you were accused of a crime you didn’t commit, I bet you would hope there are some cameras nearby.
It’s a fact, crime is decreased in areas where it is publically stated that security cameras are in use.
Burglars, by default, are more likely to go after homes or places of business that offer easy access. While home security systems are important, many would-be burglars can outsmart them – especially if they are an older-generation system with no cameras or that communicates with a monitoring center via a land line. What do you do? Besides upgrading to a new system, you should:
- Make sure your front, side and back doors are secured with deadbolts. It is amazing how a simple and inexpensive solution like this is not implemented by default. If you ask me, it should be required by law.
- Most modern windows have shatter-proof glass and have window stops. An older style window or a faulty closing mechanism is an invitation to would-be-thieves.
- A physical fence makes it harder to enter your property, but offers a false sense of security. Anyone intent on breaking through only needs inexpensive bolt cutters.
- Finally, garden tools and ladders that you leave outside make a wonderful addition to a burglars work bag. Keep them indoors.
If your home or place of business is being burglarized, and you happen to be physically present during the crime-in-progress, your absolute first step should be to call 911. Do not go out and confront the intruders. You’re not batman. Your skin quickly yields to a bullet or to the sharp end of a knife. Seriously, the bad guys might get spooked, and you can never know what they are willing to do to complete their task. Many burglars can trip older-style home security systems, especially ones that still use a land line to communicate with the monitoring center.
So using your cell phone to call the police should be your first move. Give the dispatcher specific details about your location, and that your family or co-workers are inside. Remain quiet and avoid confrontation.
After hearing about the horse slashings at Frying Pan Park smartisight donated security cameras to the Spirit Open Equestrian Program.
In turn we recieved a very moving letter we felt should be shared to show how such things can impact so many.
Dear all,
I found this article so informative and the advice in it is given by professional detectives and law enforcement. I was surprized to read that the police come across so many business’s without much or any security cameras especially a small business such as the one mentioned in this article. This is a must read.
Check it out at; http://www.businessknowhow.com/security/securitycamera.htm#.UFCMJrcGGzw.twitter
If your home or place of business is being burglarized, and you happen to be physically present during the crime-in-progress, do NOT confront the intruders. You do not know how many of them are waiting outside, if they are carrying any weapons and, worse, what they are willing to do to complete their task.
Fighting back with guns or pepper spray is an option (I keep a loaded shotgun with the safety catch engaged in my home), but possessing them has repercussions. As a homeowner, the law allows for
‘reasonable’ force when someone breaks into your house. If a judge finds you used excess force to ‘punish’ the burglar, you may end up on the wrong side of the law.
Your best option is to call 911 and avoid putting yourself or your family in harm’s way. In the end, a good home security system is your best deterrent against burglars. Not a gun, not a baseball bat, not pepper spray.
smartisight is proud to announce the donation of cameras to Spirit Equestrian, located at Frying Pan Park’s Equestrian Facility at2709 West Ox Road,Herndon,Va.
SPIRIT Equestrian is a nationally recognized non-profit that provides education, personal growth and therapy using horses for children and adults with all types of abilities and disabilities. Helping groups such as the Wounded Warriors program and children .
Recently some of these horses were abused, slashed and cut while out in the fields at Frying Pan Park inHerndon,VA.
smartisight is a local small business based in Mclean, VA. The proprietor, Ziad Kassis, feels that the incidents which have plagued Spirit over the last several months are deplorable. smartisight offered assistance so that the horses, which are a vital part of the program, could be kept safe.
The cameras provided are wireless and can be mounted anywhere, they have infrared capabilities and motion detection so that any activity will be caught and recorded.
All of the employees of smartisight hope the donation will help to avoid any future criminal activities and help to catch any one involved in any wrong doings.
If your home or place of business is being burglarized, and you happen to be physically present during the crime-in-progress, do NOT confront the intruders. You do not know how many of them are waiting outside, if they are carrying any weapons and, worse, what they are willing to do to complete their task.
Fighting back with guns or pepper spray is an option (I keep a loaded shotgun with the safety catch engaged in my home), but possessing them has repercussions. As a homeowner, the law allows for ‘reasonable’ force when someone breaks into your house. If a judge finds you used excess force to ‘punish’ the burglar, you may end up on the wrong side of the law.
Your best option is to call 911 and avoid putting yourself or your family in harm’s way. In the end, a good home security system is your best deterrent against burglars. Not a gun, not a baseball bat, not pepper spray.
I left you hanging last week with this question: Can employers install hidden security cameras and not tell their employees they are watching them?
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees “[the] right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures”. Yay. So my boss can’t spy on me? Not quite. The Fourth Amendment refers to the government invading your privacy not your employer. Dang it.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 protects employees against invasion of privacy. Employers cannot monitor employees, without their consent, in places where there is a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’. In other words, an employer cannot install a camera in a private office, locker room, or bathroom (obviously) without the employee expressly accepting this. The employer can, WITHOUT CONSENT, install cameras in an open office area, like with cubicle arrangements. The same goes for lobby areas, building entrances, job sites, factory floors, assembly lines and so on.
But then again: Between Facebook, Skype, front/back cameras on your phone and the Patriot Act, your expectation of privacy has long since been reduced zero.
Security Cameras in the workplace offer more than the obvious benefits of deterring theft and vandalism. They help catch burglars and thieves doing ‘inside jobs’, as well as improve worker safety and productivity. Research shows that employees are more productive when they know there are security cameras watching them, whether they receive constructive feedback or not. I spent years studying the Hawthorne Effect for my PhD. To bypass the boring details and give you the meat: Human beings tend to perform better when the marginal benefit of doing so exceeds the marginal cost. Cameras, whether covert or overt, are central to putting performance in the spotlight.
But what about privacy? Can employers install hidden security cameras and not tell their employees they are watching them?
Yes and no. But mostly yes. In all 50 states and DC, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act protects employees against invasion of privacy. So what constitutes an ‘invasion of privacy’?
Stay tuned for part 2, in next week’s tip.
