Protect Your Christmas Displays with Security Cameras

It is that time of year to drag out the Christmas decorations. Setting up the house, business, or church can be a fun event for the whole family, as well as creating something beautiful the whole community can appreciate. Sadly more than a few of these lovely and expensive Christmas displays we work so hard to put together get vandalized every year.


Decorations get torn down, broken, or even stolen in the middle of the night when no one is watching. Some simply are out to cause mischief while others may be targeting specific religions. Whatever the reasoning you do not have to become a helpless victim and you do not have to stand guard or form a militia to protect your hard work and cash investment. A wireless security camera system is a small price to pay to ensure you those perpetrating violence and mischief against your nativity scene are brought to justice.


A quality wireless security camera system can be purchased for a few hundred dollars. Since there are no wires hidden cameras can easily be placed inside any decoration to cover any angle. All that is required is a battery power source. They are the easiest cameras to work with and setup can be done in under an hour. A good kit will come with everything necessary to setup your security system. Wireless video data can be monitored and checked from any computer anywhere. Place a sign out to let people know your property is under video surveillance. For lower budgets fake security cameras, which are simply and empty camera housing, can be just an effective deterrent as well. It may seem like a lot to spend, but you will be able to use the system for years to come.


Some decorations or statues are worth hundreds or thousands of dollars alone. These may be candidates for a GPS tracker. These items have led to the recovery of many a baby Jesus statues every year. A tracker can be hidden on the item and should it go missing lead you right to the thief’s doorstep, unless of course it gets thrown in a ditch. Either way you will get it back.


If you are planning on laying out hundreds of dollars on decorations it might be wise to consider spending a few more to ensure they stick around for years to come.



About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of wireless security cameras and hidden cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit www.security-cams.com.

Newest Members of the Police Force

Well it is not RoboCop, at least not yet. Today’s police forces are getting the edge on illicit activity in major cities across the nation using none other than wireless security cameras. Police and federal law enforcement have long used unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with cameras and special sensors to patrol borders and national forests, but these new tools are helping reduce crime and increase public safety among the most crime ridden inner cities.

California’s Los Angeles County Police Department is one of the first to incorporate wireless networked cameras to fight crime. These high quality digital camera networks produce clear crisp evidence grade recordings 24 hours a day and rely on Wi-Fi signals instead of a video server. Dispatchers monitoring cameras in high crime regions are able to deliver critical information about situations to responding deputies while en route. Response times have been significantly reduced as much as ten times enabling police to interrupt crimes in progress, such as gang fights and drug deals. Other departments who have adopted the system, such as Santa Monica PD and Redlands PD, are having similar success. Wireless networks are much less expensive to implement and can be easily reconfigured or expanded

Eventually departments would like to connect their wireless systems with the ALPR, automatic license plate recognition database. This would allow immediate and automatic checks against stolen or marked vehicles. Once a vehicle is located wireless security cameras in the area would track activity around the vehicle recording any criminal activity for police to use in investigations. Future uses might also include facial recognition tied in to government and law enforcement databases.

Another tool law enforcement officials are testing out are tiny unmanned drones. These units are outfitted with wireless security cameras and would provide an extra set of eyes for SWAT teams during tactical operations. These small drones weigh 14lbs and can be easily carried in a backpack and deployed covertly to observe target sites. This spy-in-the-sky technology functions during the day or night using infrared sensors and would be deployed during hostage situations or against barricaded forces. This technology is currently in testing phases and awaiting FAA approval.

Despite the successes, privacy advocates fear abuses of these networks and are calling for increased rules and regulations for how these new technologies can be implemented. Once guidelines are laid out it is likely police departments across the nation will follow suit.


About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and wireless security cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.

Security Cameras Catch Criminals

Many advocates claim security cameras are ineffective weapons against crime. Despite the multitude of research studies that show reduced crime rates in regions under surveillance these few people are still not convinced. One study of car parking garages showed a 51% reduction of criminal acts. Security cameras are an integral part of police investigation and special police units are dedicated to their use. Often officers with special training are monitoring 50-60 cameras at a time in a single room, which can be a monotonous ordeal, as camera feeds rotate through monitors every 5 – 10 seconds. However, anti surveillance activists frequently point to situations and circumstances where these units failed to respond when a crime was being committed.

In one such example a woman was assaulted at knife point while inside her apartment building monitored by approximately 200 security cameras. She was forced into a stairwell where there were no cameras and raped. To use the horrendous nature of events like these to lobby against security cameras is unfounded. Cameras did not record the crime itself, but did observe the struggle in the hallways.

What are the alternatives? What would be fool proof? Greater physical presence of police and security guards? What are the chances security personel patrolling the grounds would have stumbled upon the crime in progress, especially since none of the residents heard or reported anything? If guards had missed the crime what options would police have to follow up with other than slowly taking the victims description of the suspect and developing a sketch.

While these are terribly unfortunate events, just because a crime is committed under surveillance does not mean there is a problem with cameras themselves. The presence of cameras and readily accessible digital footage frequently leads to a speedy arrest of the perpetrator. Since there are so many cameras on the streets and in buildings, many times police can retrace a criminal’s steps providing them with an excellent profile of the suspect or his identity. In the example above police were able to locate footage of the criminal approaching the building from a gas station across the street. Other cameras in the gas station spotted the assailant purchasing cigarettes with his credit card and obtained his identity. He was apprehended immediately. Video footage is excellent evidence of the crime and will likely lend for a speedy trial and conviction.

People are people and sadly they make mistakes. Improvements in security technology are vastly closing the human error gap with image recognition. These high tech surveillance cameras can recognize items such as a gun or knife, as well as suspicious behaviors and criminal acts such as vandalism and assault. Absolutely nothing should replace personal common sense. One should always be aware of their surroundings and never take personal safety for granted.

Advances in technology have brought about much higher quality cameras at reduced prices making it a viable option for almost any homeowner to have indoor and outdoor video surveillance. Wireless surveillance cameras are quickly becoming the popular choice since they are so easy to install. These cameras can be quickly installed since there are no holes to drill and wires to run. Monitored security systems will dispatch security agents and notify police immediately.



About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and wireless security cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.

Predicting the Future With Automated Security Cameras

The movie “The Minority Report” is set in a future where crimes can be detected before they happen and people are arrested and charged for acts they intended to commit. Tom Cruise heads up the Pre Crime unit that is powered by psychic beings whose dreams of the future can detect murderous intent, however predicting crime before it happens may not require such a farfetched premise.

Some would argue that security cameras do not prevent crime they only assist with catching the individuals who conducted those criminal activities. While they do provide invaluable information about perpetrators the police can use to quickly apprehend suspects, new technologies combined with a stronger understanding of social behavior are quickly changing these assumptions about security. Automated security systems can prevent a crime before it even happens by recognizing threats before they have a chance to act.

An automated security system combines intelligent cameras with advanced database analysis software. These new intelligent surveillance cameras can automate and streamline security tasks. Smart cameras can track targets as well as make decisions on which targets to watch. These innovative security cameras can key in on individuals and recognize faces and objects the person is carrying. Data can be stored and cross referenced with police databases, hotel registrations, or any other pertinent data to determine the threat level of any given person. As data is collected over time the system is begins to understand how specific people behave. This allows control centers to better monitor a site by requiring fewer agents to monitor more cameras. Utilizing behavioral analysis algorithms the system can notify security monitoring personnel of any suspicious activity.

These systems are astonishingly accurate. One social experiment conducted at MIT, The Reality Mining Project, utilized hundreds of thousands of hours of proximity data collected by tracking mobile phones over a period of nine months. Researchers were then able to create algorithms that could predict a person’s next actions accurately over 85% of the time. The program was also able to determine social status and relationships. Tracking individuals as they move through their day from home to work and other key locations the program could create a list of their friends and acquaintances and be right 90% of the time.

How does this work practically speaking? Here is one example. A serious threat, such as a terrorist, is likely to conduct their own surveillance of the site before carrying out an attack. The system could track individuals as they move through the site and recognize surveillance types of behavior. The system would then alert monitoring agents to pay closer attention to them. A snapshot of the target could be used to determine identity and various databases could be cross referenced for any pertinent information about the suspect. They can then direct security teams on how to position themselves to deal with the threat in a moment’s notice should the need arise.

About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and surveillance cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.

Crack Down on Crime with CCTV

Security cameras have played a significant role in preventing crime and catching criminals. Before security cameras, police had to rely on witness’s description of the perpetrator where a crime had been committed. Eye witness accounts can vary greatly among several people who were present at the same event. Eye witness testimonies must be accompanied by other substantial or objective evidence to hold up in court. Since the development of closed circuit television (CCTV) in 1942 many advances in technology have made CCTV invaluable in the fight against crime. Mini security cameras are difficult to spot and catch criminals when they aren’t aware they are being watched. Recent studies show that video surveillance is the number one deterrent for criminals.

CCTV is the use of video security cameras to relay a signal to a specific or limited set of monitors. The first CCTV system was designed and installed by German scientist Walter Bruch in 1942. His system was used to record and observe the launch of V-2 rockets. Closed circuit television is very useful at launch sites because the cameras are able to be in closer proximity to the rockets than a human while providing a recording of the event that can be reviewed as often as needed.

Now the use of CCTV can be found almost anywhere. It is inexpensive enough to be used in home security systems. There are at least 13 U.S. cities in which law enforcement officials are operating or implementing CCTV video surveillance as a way to prevent crime and promote public safety. In some cities, the videos are passively recorded and played back at certain intervals, while other cities actively monitor the surveillance images. In some states school districts are experimenting with CCTV video surveillance as a principal security measure to reduce campus violence and prevent crimes such as theft and graffiti. According to a 1996 survey of secondary school administrators conducted by the American Society for Industrial Security, schools which use either passive or active CCTV surveillance systems, contend that the systems have contributed to reduced property crimes such as break-ins, theft, and vandalism. The popularity of CCTV video surveillance as a crime prevention tool is an important component of the re-emergence of downtown entertainment and commercial business districts. Business partnerships composed of retailers and various agencies of local governments have been created in cities such as Baltimore, Tampa Bay, and Memphis to provide the funding capital for CCTV video surveillance crime prevention projects. Community-oriented policing programs help monitor the surveillance systems and respond to criminal activity.


About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of mini security cameras and security cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.