Protecting Your Outdoor Security Camera From Vandalism

By John Wolfe

The reason you need an outdoor security camera is to deter criminal and hostile activity. The surveillance equipment in the area to be monitor will no doubt be at risk of destructive behavior and while we cannot prevent it absolutely, there are things we can do to mitigate the risk. There are four main considerations to protect your outdoor security camera from vandalism.

The first consideration is the camera itself, or the housing that the camera will be in. How the camera is mounted will play a big role as well as the placement of the camera. One of the most reliable ways is to install an intelligent video alarm on the camera itself.

The material of the casing makes a difference since metal provides better vandal protection than a plastic casing. Another big factor is the shape of the housing or the camera. A traditional fixed camera that protrudes from a wall or ceiling is easier to attack than something that is more discrete such as a dome shaped housing or camera.

The way mounting can be used to protect the camera is by mounting the housing or camera flush with the wall or ceiling. This way only the transparent part of the housing or camera is visible. Also, we want to cables protected as well so the best way is to pull the cables directly through the wall behind the camera, or use a metal conduit tube.

Camera placement is also an important factor in deterring vandalism. By placing a camera out of reach on high walls or in the ceiling, many spur-of-the-moment attacks can be prevented. The downside may be the angle of view, which to some extent can be compensated by selecting a different lens.

Axis' active tampering alarm feature helps protect cameras against vandalism. It can detect if a camera has been redirected, obscured or tampered with, and can send alarms to operators. This is especially useful in installations with hundreds of cameras in demanding environments where keeping track of the proper functioning of all cameras is difficult. It is also useful in situations where no live viewing takes place and operators can be notified when cameras have been tampered with.

About the Author:

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Powered by Blogger