15 things you need to know before purchasing CCTV

8/3/2019 15 things you need to know before purchasing CCTV

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GARDWELL SECURE SYSTEMS 2011.Registered Office: Brooke House, John Hyrne Way, Norwich, NR5 0AF

Registered in England: 6395272

15 Things That You Need to KnowBefore Purchasing CCTV

A whitepaper by Gardwell Secure Systems

Email: [email protected]: www.gardwellsecuresystems.co.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)1493 742020
http://www.gardwellsecuresystems.co.uk/http://www.gardwellsecuresystems.co.uk/


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GARDWELL SECURE SYSTEMS 15 Things That You Need To Know Before Purchasing CCTV

2 GARDWELL SECURE SYSTEMS, 2011. Registered Office: Brooke House, John Hyrne Way, Norwich,NR5 0AF.

Table of Contents

1. Why choose CCTV? ............................................................................................................................... 3

2. What is the purpose of CCTV? .............................................................................................................. 5

3. 15 Things that you need to know before purchasing CCTV? ................................................................ 6

4. Technical Jargon .................................................................................................................................. 13

5. About Gardwell Secure Systems ......................................................................................................... 16


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1. Why choose CCTV?

Securing business premises is a major concern in todays society with the cost of crime nowstanding at 12.6 billion as found by the British Chambers of Commerce. There are many waysto safeguard your premises, one of them being CCTV. However, when you are considering

installing CCTV at your business premises you should consider what security measures areavailable, what security measure would be best for your business, as well as taking into accountthe legal aspects to it.

Fundamentally, CCTV is not the solution to all your security concerns; it is part of an overallsecurity solution. You need to consider all the following factors to be confident that you canobtain your desired outcome without the disappointment of having a very expensive butineffective CCTV system. At the end of the day, a CCTV system is a deterrent, not a panacea.

With all CCTV systems, they take a little while to bed in and it is not unusual to find that oncethe system has been in for perhaps a month that you may need to consider repositioning your

CCTV cameras, or adding extra CCTV cameras as you may have a blind spot. It may also bethat light levels are not sufficient to give you quality images which are useable, and thereforeyou may need to increase light levels or invest in infra-red cameras. This may affect yourbudget.

Also remember that not all people that will attempt to steal or damage your property are foolish -some will keep their faces out of camera shot as they have checked out the site beforehand, or


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have a hood covering them. Early warning of perpetrators can be a significant advantage ofhaving a CCTV system, but being able to respond with audio response, security patrols orpolice will be key.

Generally speaking, you will want your CCTV system to have cameras that produce a highquality picture, which is then recorded and backed up. Later, this footage can be easily reviewedand stored. You want a system that is very user friendly, within your budget and covers all ofyour security concerns. A CCTV system that is simple to maintain and that will remain currentfor many years to come should also be high on your list of priorities.

Ok, so lets crack on the technical points to consider about the CCTV cameras themselves willbe in the appendix at the end.


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2. What is the purpose of CCTV?

Normally the purpose of having CCTV cameras is to protect against theft, trespass, vandalism,or to protect high value goods or high quantities of lower value goods.

Recorded video footage of criminal activity can include shoplifting, vandalism, break-ins andhold ups. This is often the prime reason a business will install a CCTV system. Business ownersalso use it to catch customers who leave without paying; for example, at a petrol station orrestaurant. Another purpose of CCTV may be to keep an eye on staff.

You can use CCTV as both a surveillance tool and as a method of identifying and prosecutingthieves. The best placement for your CCTV depends on what you want to gain from it.

If you want to use CCTV to observe activity in your premises, it is best to place the cameras at ahigher angle so as to view a wider area. This may overcome issues such as equipmentobstructing views, etc.

If you would like to use CCTV as a means of identifying criminals, then it is best to place the

cameras at eye level as you are then more likely to get a clearer view of peoples faces.Detection based CCTV is better equipped to handle this, but the cost may be prohibitive.


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3. 15 Things that you need to know before purchasing CCTV?

1) Public access space and the Data Protection Act Do you need a licence? The simple answer is yes; if you are reviewing data at any point thenfrankly it is worth registering, especially as this will be needed for keeping of personnel andcustomer data anyway. You can register herehttp://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/notification/notify.aspx - you will need tonominate and publicise an onsite data controller.

Secondly, if you are reviewing the data internally as it stands currently, there is no requirementfor your staff to be licenced under the Security Industry Authority (SIA). However, if you useoutside contractors to monitor your CCTV systems, whether on your premises or remotely, theymust be SIA licenced with Public Space Surveillance (CCTV) licences. This is required by themwhere the use of closed circuit television equipment is to:

a. monitor the activities of a member of the public in a public or private place; or

b. identify a particular person.

This includes the use of CCTV to record images that are viewed on non-CCTV equipment, butexcludes the use of CCTV solely to identify a trespasser or protect property.

Also, sufficient signage needs to be displayed about the sign to warn people coming both onand off site, that they are being monitored with a contact number of the security company. Thisensures that in the event of an activation, the attendees on site, whether they be police or amobile security officer, know who to obtain footage from the system or enable them to remotelyview the system, if this is possible.

2) Closed site/environment The site/property to be protected by CCTV is it open to the public or can access becontrolled?

The simplest way to monitor CCTV is to have an enclosed site i.e. one that access can becontrolled to and from the site and where there is no access to the public. This simplifies yoursecurity threats.

On sites where the public have access, it is still possible to control areas of the site to ensurethat CCTV can be monitored effectively and that you are not subject to numerous false

activations. You could add perimeter fencing, for example, cost effectively to exclude the publicfrom these areas and monitor this fenced area.

Are there areas of the sites that are more exposed than others or are there high value goodsstored there? You could consider protecting these areas only, with CCTV or by using other earlywarning systems, such as electronic perimeter intrusion detection systems or Redwall motiondetection systems.
http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/notification/notify.aspxhttp://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/notification/notify.aspxhttp://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/notification/notify.aspx


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If the site is very large, then use of wireless cameras can be considered to offset the cost ofcabling, this will be proposed by whichever surveyor comes to view your site.

Wherever possible, the engineers on site should attempt to use any spare capacity withinexisting data cabling infrastructure. On larger sites, the cost of cabling can be quite prohibitiveand therefore the use of wireless cameras may be considered.

Although some may feel like their business is more secure if their CCTV is hard-wired, therereally is little difference in performance between wired and wireless CCTV cameras. However,one key area to consider in the use of wireless CCTV cameras is stability, as interference fromother sources may affect the ability of the CCTV cameras to record. Similarly, sites with lots ofmetalwork can affect the ability of wireless functions to work effectively.

Generally, wireless CCTV cameras tend to be recommended in more extreme circumstances

3) What happens if my CCTV activates? Do I need a response?In the event of activation, your CCTV system monitor will switch to the relevant camera and,

assuming it is set up correctly, show you 2-3 still images plus a live feed. As long as someone issituated in front of the monitor this will obviously cause no issues for you, as they will be able toidentify the cause of the activation or send a colleague to the point of activation to determine thecause. But you may need to consider if this is both practical and avoids putting a colleague atrisk of harm.

In the event of there being an intruder on site, you should immediately contact either yournominated security contractor or your local police for back up or assistance. They will require akey holder to meet them on site within 20 minutes to assist them with accessing the site.


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4) Out of hours coverage? In house monitoring vs. remote monitoringIn the previous scenario, it worked fine when someone was monitoring the system 24/7. Thereality is that someone may be sat there Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. What happens out ofhours? Or even, is it realistic to expect someone to monitor your CCTV effectively as part oftheir role and not a full time role?

There are a number of solutions available:

The activation could be sent electronically to your smartphone or home computer.Assuming you have mobile phone coverage, you can login to the remote CCTVsoftware, so you can monitor your site, confirm the activation and contact the police, ifnecessaryYour site can be monitored by a monitoring company and they will contact you or contactyour security company in the event of activation (depending on your instructions).You/they can then go to site and confirm the activation, contacting the police asnecessary if the monitoring company cant confirm a live activation. If the monitoring

company confirms a live activation, they could issue an audio challenge if your systemhas that capability and they can contact your nominated security contractor and/or policeon your behalf, who will need to meet with the keyholder at site within 20 minutes ofactivationYour site can be monitored by a security company and they will contact you, issue anaudio challenge, if your system has that capability, or send out a mobile patrol vehicle(depending on your instructions) with the keys in the event of an activation; they canthen confirm the activation and contact the police as necessary


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If you do not wish to pay someone a full-time wage to sit and view your cameras 24/7 you dohave the option of outsourcing. This essentially means paying a separate security company amonthly or yearly fee to watch your security cameras. This is exceptionally useful if you do nothave the means to hire an employee simply for this purpose, or would rather remove yourselffrom the hassle of doing so.

A professionally hired company will know what theyre doing and therefore will not waste your time with false alarms, and they can even be instructed to send out the relevant response unitupon noticing any suspicious activity.

Generally, if you are using an external security company to monitor your CCTV system, they willco-ordinate contact with all third party agencies, including the police, boarding up services, etc.,and will send their mobile patrol with keys to site.

5) CCTV for void or empty propertiesIt is often considered by large organisations and councils that you can mothball a building by

arranging to board up the building to prevent entry, whilst discussions over future use / sale of itare held. However, as a result of spiralling commodity prices, it appears that thieves are notbeing put off by such tactics alone.

It is now not uncommon to find that thieves gain access by the secure boarded windows ordoors and simply put them back in place, the building to the untrained eye appears to remainsecure, whilst they go through the building preparing all materials to be cut to size beforeremoving everything from site in literally an hour or two.

Detection based CCTV can be used to remotely monitor a buildings activities . Thus if someonegains access to a building this will be detected and can be used to co-ordinate a response withany relevant third parties - power and either a GSM/GPRS card or broadband line will berequired to enable this service.

Alternatively remotely monitored alarms coupled with a response service from a securitycompany can ensure the property remains secure, again power would be required.

Or if there is no power to the site, another solution may be the use of random mobile patrols tocheck the integrity of just closed building as well as to ensure that there are no burst pipes,spillages or the like, as well as providing scheduled void property inspections.

6) Added benefits of CCTVSome additional advantages of CCTV that can be considered are:

Lone Worker providing protection/support for your staff when working alone on siteMarketing tool customers have used CCTV to monitor customer numbers coming inand out of siteTime Management having a backup system to allow you to verify staff & visitorscoming on and offsite


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Health & Safety ability to review footage following any incidents to confirm causation,provide evidence, etc.

Similarly this can apply to Stock Management and Day to Day management matters.

7) Perimeter security is it adequate?As well as lighting on site, you will need to consider perimeter security to further deter would-bethieves form your site, use of Heras and solid fencing is common place and integral to theintegrity and security of your site.

General good housekeeping is important as it will create an impression of a well maintained andefficient site where security is taken seriously. It is advisable to prune back trees and shrubs,especially if people can gain access to your site through them, or if they would make it easy forsomeone to hide.

8) What are the alternatives?

There are a number of alternatives to CCTV, namely having a physical security presence onsite, such as a Security Officer or Security Officer and a dog to target hardening measures, suchas grills and shutters.

You can also utilise random mobile patrols throughout the times of site closure to ensureregular, but not permanent site coverage. It is always recommended that this is random as aregularly timed patrol is easy for a thief to plan their time of attack.

Intruder alarms can be utilised in conjunction with a monitored alarm or RedCare systems,backed up by alarm response vehicles and/or the police.

Obviously doing nothing is another option, which is not recommended, and potentially would putyou at risk with your insurers in event of a theft.

Note: It is worth discussing with your insurers any enhancements to your security arrangementas this may result in a discounted premium.

9) What CCTV wont give you CCTV wont give you a conviction invariably most thieves are too smart to allow you to take apicture of their face full on or their vehicle number plate, but some will be caught throughnaivety.

But, if the CCTV system is monitored, it will allow you to respond in the event of activation and

increase the likelihood of either the capture of any thieves or reduced loss, due to being on sitequickly.


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CCTV will not achieve full lock down of your site onits own, but must be seen as part of your overallsecurity solution.

A good security supplier will look at all the risksassociated with your site and look to deliver theright solution that meets your specific needs.

10) What can I afford?The price of the CCTV system will be dependent on a number of factors; for example, size ofthe site, the number of CCTV cameras, lighting, etc., and on top of this you should expect twomaintenance visits per annum.

The initial cost of the solution is generally a capital cost. You need to be clear from thebeginning with your supplier what your budget is, so that they can tailor their offeringsappropriately.

This initial outlay can be spread over a number of years and then effectively be an operatingcost to the business, rather than a capital cost. The options open to you are either rental orleasing options, but this will allow the opportunity to increase your initial outlay by spreading thecost over a long period.

11) When researching CCTV suppliers ask for refereesTake out maintenance cover and make sure the equipment is regularly serviced, minimum

every 6 months. You could save yourself a lot of trouble and expense in the long run by enteringinto a maintenance plan.

Even though CCTV equipment is highly reliable, it makes sense to ensure that you get thewarranty certificate, just to be on the safe side, for your CCTV security system at the time ofpurchase. Over time, the CCTV cameras will need to be refocused, housings checked to ensure


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for the signs of leakage, and the system re-configured to ensure its accuracy. These activitiesand more will be carried out as part of the routine maintenance of the CCTV system.

12) What areas do you want the CCTV cameras to cover?It is often impractical to cover every nook and cranny in your business premises. Many people

find that no matter how many CCTV cameras they seem to put in they still have blind spots inthe CCTV system (areas of the premises which are not covered by cameras).

What is best is to have a look at your essential areas. What are your areas of concern? Perhapsdown the aisle of impulse items, or a toilet corridor, or even out the back where the staff are notsupposed to be smoking. You will also want to cover your entrances and exits. Have a look atall these areas and think about the various places on the ceiling or wall that you could place acamera to cover each area. Consider if the CCTV camera will need to cover the front of aperson or only the back of them.

13) How long will the recorded videos be kept before it is deleted?

Generally the advice is to have a system that allows the capability to store 4 weeks of recordedfootage, after that you should record and back up the data, and store the disks off site, whichthen gives you the ability to go in and review data going back several months to investigateissues e.g. injuries, criminal activity, etc.

14) How user-friendly will the CCTV system need to be?The simple answer is - as easy as possible. It doesnt matter how technical you hap pen to be, it

just makes sense to have a CCTV system that a six year old could manage. Why on earthwould you want something so complicated that you dont know what half the buttons do?

Are you the only person who will need to access the system or are other people in your

organisation required to access it? Keep this in mind when choosing your system.

15) Will you need to access the CCTV system remotely?There are two types of remote access.

Onsite connectionOne is simply from another computer in your workplace an onsite connection. As long as allyour computers are linked into the same Local Area Network (LAN) then it is quitestraightforward accessing your security system from another computer.

Offsite connection

The other type of remote access is from another site an offsite connection, such as your homeor even overseas. It is certainly possible to remotely access your digital security system from aremote location, but you will need to enquire about the complications associated with thesystem you buy, and whether you need to upgrade your broadband line for these remotelocations e.g. home.


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4. Technical Jargon

CCTV SystemsThere are basically two types of CCTV camera surveillance systems:

1. Stand Alone DVR System: Computer-based which runs proprietary operating systemsdesigned to run only one application.

2. IP Network Camera System: Offering remote monitoring of Security Cameras; it is asystem which gives users the ability to monitor and record video over an IP network(Local Area Network/Wide Area Network/Internet).

Number of Frames Per Second (FPS)Frames per second refer to how many frames per second the camera captures. It is standard tohave CCTV that captures 30 frames per second but you can get some cameras that will capture120 frames per second.

However, your storage capacity for recording that amount of data must be substantial and if youare only wishing to catch perpetrators then 1-6 frames per second will be enough.

CCTV camera resolutionDo you need clear, accurate images? The higher the camera resolution, the better quality imageyoull get. Cameras of over 540 TVL (TV lines) are considered to be of high-resolution, thoughthey will cost more than the lower resolution cameras.

TVL - the resolution is the quality of definition and clarity of a picture and is defined in lines.

More lines = higher resolution, which means a better picture quality . The resolution depends on the amount of pixels (picture elements) in the CCD chip. If acamera manufacturer can put in more number of pixels in the same size CCD chip, thatcamera will have a higher resolution. In other words the resolution is directlyproportional to the number of pixels in the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) chip.

Monitor resolutionSelect a monitor that matches the resolution of your camera. You should not mix resolution: ifyou have a high resolution camera, choose a high resolution recorder and monitor.

LUXLux is the measurement for light sensitivity. As mentioned before, the lighting in your premiseswill greatly affect the quality of the image that CCTV cameras produce. Light is measured inLUX and over the page is a table detailing what each gradient means so that you can make aninformed choice


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Illuminance Example0.00005 LUX Starlight


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The lenses you purchase should match the format of your camera: 1/4 lenses work best with1/4 cameras. Some cameras also pan, tilt, rotate, and scan. The more features and functionsthe cameras have, the more costly they will be. For outdoor activity, you may want to consideran automatic iris.

Digital Video Recorder (DVR)To record and store a lot of data, youll need a large hard drive. A 500 gigabyte (GB) hard drivewill store about 14 days of full-mot ion video from one camera. It is unlikely youll be storing thatmuch full motion, as usually there is low-quantity motion. A 1 terabyte (TB) is a betterinvestment and you can expand the hard drive units by adding to them.

CAT5 Cable or Wireless?Systems can be set up using coaxial cable or CAT5 cabling, or you can consider a wirelesssystem. Large corporations, banks, casinos and such often use fibre optics. Wireless systemscan run into problems, such as interference.

Installation, Demonstrations, References, RecommendationsCheck out several companies thoroughly. Ask about installation fees, a demonstration of theCCTV system, references, and recommendations based on your needs. Ask about success andfailure rates of the CCTV systems and what can potentially go wrong with a system. Whathappens when the power goes out? How does it perform in bad weather? What the warrantiesfor the various components? Ask about maintenance, support and call out fees too.


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5. About Gardwell Secure Systems

Gardwell Secure Systems, part of the GSL Dardan Group, has a trading history that dates backto 1996. The company was originally founded in Great Yarmouth to help secure the propertiesand assets of companies created during the boom years of the offshore gas industry.

Quickly establishing itself as a leading provider of security services across East Anglia,Gardwell Secure Systems specialises in the design, installation, maintenance, servicing, andsupport of CCTV, access control systems, and intruder alarm systems in industries including theenergy, aviation, manufacturing, finance, retail, transportation, and logistics sectors.

Our highly trained staff are involved in all aspects of the project; from the initial design throughto the installation of security equipment, implementation of security strategies, and training ofoperators and site managers.

We have complete confidence in our ability to deliver the right security services for yourbusiness, and consolidate our position as the largest independent provider of quality securitysystems across East Anglia.

Contact Gardwell Secure Systems:

Registered office address: Brooke House, John Hyrne Way, Longwater Business Park,Norwich, Norfolk, NR5 0AF

Head office address: Endeavour House, Admiralty Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 3NG

Telephone: (01493) 742020

Fax: (01493) 742019

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.gardwellsecuresystems.co.uk

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15 things you need to know before purchasing CCTV