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A camera cannot jump down off the wall and stop a crime from taking place.
Unless the camera system is monitored 24/7 by security staff there is little chance that a camera system will prevent a crime.
Typically a CCTV system is only used after the fact to assess what took place and to try to identify the perpetrator.
The problem is too often people who have these camera systems installed at their company feel that a camera surveillance system is a deterrent.
If camera systems were a deterrent then we wouldn't have crime.
Cameras today are virtually everywhere.
So with cameras almost everywhere why does crime continue to rise? It's because cameras do next to nothing to prevent it.
Criminals understand a simple truth that most CCTV systems are very poor quality and many times don't even work.
They know that most likely no one is watching the cameras live so they can commit the act and just walk away with little chance of being identified later.
If a camera system can't stop a thief then what can it do? That question is up to the company having the system installed.
When a good security company is used to design and install a cameras the system can be used to determine what took place and who may have done it.
This takes careful planning and a good design combined with quality video products that produce usable forensic evidence.
A good camera system should try to identify elements in the view such as license plates, vehicle types, facial recognition and so forth.
If a camera is merely installed for general surveillance it may tell you what happened but identifying a suspect would not be possible.
Providing Police with as much detail as possible about an incident is your best chance on catching the thief.
A good camera system is one that gets used.
Whatever the system's purpose (general security, internal theft, workmen's compensation, or monitoring employee activity) you or someone at your company has to actively use it.
A system that is unused or unchecked, no matter what the quality or design, is not a good system.
When a system is used, all sorts of information comes out and the word gets around.
So although a surveillance system can't stop a crime, a good system that is carefully installed can produce useable forensic evidence.
This video evidence can lead to the identification and/or capture of a suspect or perpetrator.
Word spreads of a company using a high quality video system.
When this is the case criminals and others looking to commit crimes against your company will find easier targets.
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