If you're starting off with home security, a good place to begin is with a security camera. Home security cameras are devices that monitor and protect your home. You can purchase indoor and outdoor security cameras. And they often include HD resolution and other features like two-way talk, night vision, and smartphone controls.
The first question you may ask yourself is simple: is a security camera necessary in the first place? And the answer depends on the level of security you want to add to your home or business. Expert Tip: Our Security Score checker is a good place to start when determining whether you need security cameras or not. This tool will provide you with a security score based on a number of factors, and once your score is up, it will give you tips on how to improve it. From there, you can decide if security cameras are necessary for you.
Cameras can also get you help faster; in terms of audio verification versus video verification, the police department in Fremont, California found that audio verification alone had a 95 percent chance of being a false alarm; Salt Lake City found false alarm rates of 82 percent, while the police in Burien, Washington found rates of 92 percent. In contrast, cities that use video-verified responses found that the number of alarm calls they got decreased by about 90 percent overall, improving their response times so people could get help faster.
Camera footage can also be useful in a criminal investigation if you do end up being burgled. Read more about whether or not security cameras deter crime. The amount of security cameras you need depends on the size of your home as well as the amount of security you want in general. At a minimum, we recommend putting a camera in the main entrance of your home on the ground floor. For more security, you can put more security cameras on the ground level, and in any room that you use frequently or must pass through to enter or exit your home.
For additional security, you can put security cameras in main hallways on second or third floors. In fact, putting up cameras in those places is illegal in some states. Learn more about the legality of security cameras. Since there are many factors to consider when choosing a security camera, we created a guide to walk you through the entire process, beginning with choosing the type of camera, or cameras, that you need.
