We’ve all seen them. We may even have them in our office or home but, a recent ruling by a Court in the UK may leave us asking: Is it illegal to have security cameras around my property? Are Surveillance Cameras Illegal? In this case the judge ruled that the defendants doorbell camera was an invasion of his neighbors privacy.
The answer is No. Video surveillance laws differ from state to state but, there’s lack of federal laws prohibiting video surveillance in public, in the workplace, and elsewhere, sometimes known as CCTV, or closed-circuit television. Most states allow this surveillance to occur, but there are some small exceptions and some circumstances that require monitoring on a case-by-case basis. In general, business and homeowners alike have the right to use surveillance cameras in and around their property.
As a technology advances and products become cheaper and easier for people to get their hands on, someone, inevitably, will do something stupid or illegal with it. With the rise in popularity of inexpensive, low-quality security cameras available on Amazon, Ebay, and the like is it only a matter of time that security cameras become regulated? After all, drone enthusiasts have seen local and federal regulations be enforced on their hobby. This question isn’t easy to answer because who can tell the future? Who know what the courts will do? BUT… you have the right to protect your property! The ruling in the case above is unique to say the least. The defendant had numerous cameras all over his property and even one on the wall of his neighbor’s home! Also, a key factor in this case was the fact the camera system was automatically recording video and audio of conversations more that 40 feet away.
So when it comes to protecting your property you do not need to worry about the implications of invading someone privacy if you pay attention to where you place your cameras and what is in view of them and what features are available with your security camera system.
Professionally Design Security Camera System
Having a professionally designed site plan by the security engineers at RuggedCams is a great way to know you have the right equipment and solutions for your specific security system needs. There is no such thing as a one size fits all security camera system. However, if you want a turnkey, simple to install system we have several professionally designed packages ready to go.
There are many things to take into consideration when designing a comprehensive security camera system; How far does your camera need to see? Do you need audio recording? Do you have need for infrared lights or white lights in your camera? Would a dome camera or a bullet style camera be best? Will you need a wireless transmitter and receiver? All of these are questions that our designers can answer!
Smart Cameras
Many of our cameras are “smart cameras” which means they have smart analytics technology that allows you to trigger recordings and alerts when something specific happens. For instance, some cameras have Line Crossing Detection and will only start to record once someone or something crosses a particular line you determine in your system. This is an extremely useful feature to capture any activity you need to capture while not wasting a ton of disk space recording nothing.
About us and how to get in touch
RuggedCams is a member of The Rugged Group, a family of companies headquartered in Texas. For more than 25 years, The Rugged Group has been manufacturing and Patenting products in the Security Industry. We have Design Engineers here to give a free quote for your site; all you need to do is send us your site plan; we will get you that quote within 24hours. For more information on custom designed systems or any of our products, contact one of our Design Engineers toll-free at 866-264-0041.
