by J.J. Lewsac

Caitlyn stood in the doorway of the den waiting for Thomas to respond. “Uh, sure” he said, slightly taken aback. He picked up the remote and muted the TV. “Whats up?” he asked looking at her. She clearly wasn’t happy, arms folded squarely across her chest and a stern expression on her face. 

by J.J. Lewsac

Caitlyn was a hard working business professional, wife, and mother of two children. They were an untraditional family in that Caitlyn was the one with the career, while her husband Thomas stayed home with the children. Caitlyn worked 9-10 hours a day, and while she was seeing less and less of her family, certainly less than she preferred, Thomas was very supportive of her. He got the kids breakfast, packed their lunches, and sent them to school every day. He did chores around the house and had dinner waiting for her when she got home in the evenings. They had a routine, and everything was comfortable for them. Or, at least that was the impression Caitlyn got.

After 3 years of such a schedule, Caitlyn started to notice a small change in Thomas. At first, she thought it was just a byproduct of getting older. After all, the dynamic of a marriage changes the longer you stay together.  Night after night Thomas became less interested in talking to her, and when she was home on the weekends, he was finding excuses to leave the house. She didn’t want to be overtly paranoid, but she was starting to wonder if something was up.

One night while tucking her youngest daughter into bed, she asked, “Mommy, when is the nice lady coming back?”. Confused, Caitlyn asked her daughter, “What nice lady?”

“The nice lady that comes to see Daddy” her daughter insisted. Caitlyn didn’t know how to respond. The comment had caught her completely off guard. “I…I’m not sure” said Caityln finally. “Now go to sleep.”

Caitlyn left her daughters room eager to confront Thomas with this information, as a turbulent whirlwind of emotions rose up inside of her.

“Thomas, we need to talk” she said as she walked into the den where he was watching TV.

*******

come back Wednesday for part 2

by J.J. Lewsac

More and more people are turning to surveillance cameras to protect their homes, businesses, and property. While a lot of the reasons for pursuing security cameras are somewhat different, they also share several similarities with each other, yet the equipment that ends up being purchased can be vastly different. So with that in mind, I am curious about what drives people to purchase certain equipment. Is it the price? Was it cameras resolution? A customer review? I have created a poll below to help gather the information. If you have previously purchased surveillance cameras, or if you plan on purchasing surveillance cameras, which of these reasons is the biggest factor in your decision to purchase?

by J.J. Lewsac

As a parent of two small children, there safety is always my number one concern. It has been since day one. I imagine most parents feel the same way. You can call it “the parenting gene”, or just part of being a responsible adult, but a parent always wants to know where there children are, and that they are safe. Especially when they are most vulnerable in those first few days of a child’s life. I came across a story about Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingstown, Jamaica, that i found extremely troubling.

According to the story, last week a mentally ill patient, infect with HIV/AIDS, was found in the hospitals nursery, breastfeeding another woman’s week-old newborn. The patient was apparently at the hospital getting ready to give birth to her own child, which took place  later that day. A nurse spotted the incident and intervened, but the damage may have already been done, though doctors say there is only a ”very, very slim chance” of the baby contracting HIV from the brief encounter. Slim chance or not, I would be absolutely livid that a hospital didnt have the security in place to prevent such an incident from ever happening.

Since the incident, the hospital has announced plans to install surveillance cameras. ”We are going to put CCTV cameras inside the nursery and it is going to have multiple uses. It is going to be used to ensuring [proper interaction] between mother and child and nurses and the child,” said Shirley. “It will also ensure that [babies] are given the required attention.” said Lyttleton Shirley, who chairs the board of the South East Regional Health Authority. They have also announced plans to install similar systems across all hospitals on the island.

Parents, or even prospective parents should select their healthcare provider carefully. Most reputable hospitals already have surveillance cameras, and security procedures to keep people away from areas they should not have access to. Be sure to ask about the security features in place at your local hospital. Many hospitals offer tours to pregnant couples to give them peace of mind about the institution that will be caring for them and their newborn.

There is more to keeping your family safe and secure than just protecting them at home. Take the necessary precautions to make sure nothing like the above story ever happens to your family.

by J.J. Lewsac

In our last post, we discussed how to select the proper camera for an outdoor application while considering several factors like climate, distance to target, and vandal resistant housings. Many of these same considerations must be made for indoor cameras as well.

If you are concerned that your cameras could be in the reach of individuals (like in the hallways of a school, or some other high traffic area) vandal resistant cameras are an absolute must. With a vandal resistant housing, a person could not walk underneath a camera, grab it, and then turn it to point to a different direction.

Another thing to remember is, when it comes to indoor cameras, most are not equipped with infrared light (IR), so if you are going to be placing a camera in an area that will not have good lighting, you will want to get a camera that comes equipped with IR.

Perhaps you will be installing hidden cameras that you don’t want to be seen. There are several models of hidden cameras that can blend in naturally with a room. It could be an over head sprinkler, a smoke detector, or even an exit sign. There are lots of available options to discretely place cameras to keep an eye on people and make sure they are being honest.

No matter what your application is, there is almost always a solution available to you. Make sure you factor in all the details before selecting your camera to ensure you have the right one for the job, and never be afraid to ask a few questions with industry professionals, as they will surely be willing to assist you.

by J.J. Lewsac

Having a surveillance camera doesn’t amount to much if it is put in the wrong location, or doesn’t have the necessary features to capture video in the environment you may have placed it.  Lighting, distance to target, weather, and potential for vandalism can all play a part in selecting the correct camera for your application. 

Let’s start with outdoor cameras. It is critical to take into account the environment you are going to be installing your camera. Does it get extremely hot or cold? Will the camera be in a wet climate? These are important questions to ask yourself. Most reputable businesses will list the camera specifications on their website, and part of that description should list the temperature range a camera will opperate in. Also, if a camera is listed as IP66, that will tell you that it is resistant to weather, dust, and heat. In areas that can get extremely cold, you will want to invest in a camera that is installed in a housing with a heater and a blower to allow the camera to function during those extreme temperatures.

Now that you have a camera capable of performing in the environment you are placing it, it is time to focus on the distance to your target area. Are you watching your driveway or a mailbox? Perhaps you just want to have general coverage of your yard or parking lot. Knowing what and how far you want to see will make the job of finding a camera with the right focal length much easier. A good resource to assist you in choosing the right lens can be found here.

If you will be installing a camera in an area that has a potential to be vandalized, you will surely want to invest in a vandal resistant camera. These have special high impact casings that are designed to take a little abuse, and the wiring is run through the mount so as to not be exposed to where someone could potentially cut it.

If you are unsure about what exactly you need, you are in luck as there are design experts that are available for people such as yourself that are new to the surveillance camera industry and need a little hand holding through the process.

Log in later this week as we discuss important features for indoor cameras in part 2 of our feature “It’s all in the Details”

by J.J. Lewsac

With the country on the brink of another recession, and the stock markets not reinforcing any level of confidence with investors, gold has become the commodity of choice as a safe, reliable investment. Because of the large number of people that are choosing to invest in gold, the price has sky rocketed. The price for just one ounce of gold is nearing $1900, a record high. It is now extremely easy to make some quick money by selling off gold jewelry and trinkets. Unfortunately, thieves are also taking advantage of the high gold prices and stories are popping up with alarming regularity about jewelry and pawn shops being broken into with just their gold merchandise being targeted. The stolen gold then gets taken to different “cash for gold” type businesses where they will quickly unload their haul and leave with thousands of dollars.

This is a trend that is being recognized by the major media outlets. Here is a recent story from Good Morning America, that sheds light on the trending gold theft.

With the economy expected to continue on this decline, crime, especially theft of gold, is going to rise. It is now more important than ever for store owners that sell or buy gold to adequately protect their business from would-be thieves. There are several excellent surveillance systems on the market that will help beef up your businesses security. When paired with a high speed internet connection, it is now easier than ever to keep an eye on your business when you can’t be there. Motion alarms can keep you appraised of exactly what is happening whenever there is movement in front of your cameras. Apps for smart phones are readily available to keep you in constant communication with your surveillance system.

With so much technology available to protect your gold, there is no excuse to not protect it properly. Gold theft will only become more common as the price of gold continues soaring to record heights.

by J.J. Lewsac

In a perfect world, there would be no need for surveillance cameras to watch over our homes or businesses.Sadly, there are people in this world who choose not to respect your property or privacy. Life can become especially difficult when such a person is your next door neighbor.

I recently came into contact with an individual, whom we shall call “Max” who was concerned about his family’s safety and the security of his property due to the fact that he was becoming increasingly harassed by his neighbor. The neighbor had made threats to this individual, even saying he would bury his entire family in his back yard one day. At first Max didn’t take the threats seriously; however, strange things started to happen. He and his family came home from church one afternoon to find their front door had a red X spray painted across it. A few days later their children’s swing set was completely disassembled and left in a pile. It smelled like vinegar had been poured over it. The last straw for Max came when he had friends and family over for a BBQ. Max went to go start the grill and when he opened it up he found that manure had been dumped inside. Had Max ignited the grill without opening the lid, it is possible it could have exploded. 

Max knew it had to be his next door neighbor that was behind these events, but he needed proof. Max and I discussed several camera options for him before we put together a package that would protect his home. The system had an event log that would show him how many times his cameras recorded motion events that day, so he could review his cameras to see if his neighbor had been snooping around. He would also be able to use his smart phone to check on his cameras from anywhere. He also bought some wide angle night vision cameras to watch his back yard, and a few dome cameras to watch the entrances to his home.

by J.J. Lewsac

Last week, my wife and I were driving home from a local restaurant where we had dined. When we turned onto our street, we were surprised to see a police car in front of our neighbors home. We live in a remote area, and it is a pretty rare occurrence to see uniformed officers around our neighborhood. In addition, the home that the squad car was in front of belonged to some friends of ours, who for the sake of the blog we shall call “The Smiths”. As we approached the home a small crowd had gathered, made up of many of our other neighbors, and some curious teenagers. Naturally we were concerned about the well being of our friends.

My wife hopped out of our car. She spotted another friend in the crowd and approached her, hoping to get some insight into what was going on. Her friend explained that “The Smiths” home had been robbed while they were both at work that day. They had come home to discover that all their TV’s, Stereo’s, MP3 players, and video game systems had all been stolen.  The burglar had used a screwdriver to force their way in through the sliding glass door in the back yard.  Gradually the crowd dispersed as it became apparent the Smiths were in no mood to come out of their home and talk about what had happened.  As we headed towards our home, I overheard another neighbor comment to her husband saying “I didn’t think something like that would happen all the way out here”.  As I thought about the comment I realized that I too probably felt the same way. Our community is far enough away from the rest of the city that it wouldn’t seem practical to come all the way out there to break in and steal some electronics. I then started to think that perhaps the thief was a little closer to home, and not from the city.  If that indeed was the case, then this probably is not the last time something like this will happen in our community.

That following Sunday we were able to chat for a few minutes with our friends at church about what had happened. “The Smiths” talked about how difficult it had been to sleep since the incident. Every little noise, or car door closing at night has them jumping out of bed. They talked about how violated and vulnerable they felt now. They woke up that day like any other day, only to come home and find their most used possessions had been taken from them. They mentioned that the police didnt sound confident that they would catch whomever was responsible unless someone came forward with information.  They talked about how frustrated they were that the break-in happened in broad daylight, and yet no one saw anything that could help the investigation.  I mentioned that I work in the surveillance camera industry, and they replied that they never thought they would need something like that out where we live, common sentiments apparently shared by many out in our neighborhood. Perhaps this will open some eyes, as it did mine. Never assume your home is safe and won’t be broken into, simply because you live in a nice, or distant neighborhood. You just never really know. After all, it could happen to you.

by J.J. Lewsac

As someone “in the industry” so to speak, I have a very strong opinion of the importance of security cameras in a home or business. Any regular reader of my blogs probably knows that already. However, I am curious to know about the opinions of others, and what their views of surveillance cameras are. For that reason, I have created a poll below as an opportunity for my readers to voice their opinions and speak out about their concerns or issues that involve protecting their home or business. I invite everyone to choose the answer that best suits them, and if they desire, briefly describe the reasons for your choice.  I look forward to your feedback.