PCFormat Forum Archive

Hi Guys,

I realize this is not quite PC related but i thought i would throw it in Security.

Here it work we have just installed a bunch of Network security Camera's. My boss however wants to make the camera's feed quite viewable to the warehouse staff, which he wishes to monitor. My views are however is that the staff you wish to view should not be able to see what views the camera's have because that just opens up a chance for them to keep track of "hidden" area's. I also reckon that putting fake camera's is always a good idea in order to further discourage theft. However that would definitely need to go hand in hand with the viewable camera feeds.

So i was wondering if we could discuss best security camera practices.

Cupis

Some things I've found out when installing cameras in the workplace.

Within a few weeks all the staff will know which cameras are fake and which are not. We did a few big installs on a coal mine and found that within a few weeks the areas that were 'monitored' by the fakes were soon discovered and things started to go missing from those areas again.

With regards to the staff not knowing where the blind spots, ie keeping the cameras hidden. Every member of the staff is legally allowed to ask management to show them the views that the monitoring guys can see. So hiding the cameras will not make a difference if someone asks to see the monitoring room. Of course not many people are aware of their rights with regards to being under surveillence so no one may never ask, but be aware that you are obliged to show them if they ask...

with regards to placing cameras - cover entrances/exits and important locations.
And cover them in such a way that will show the faces of people moving through the fov

Hmm that is interesting, i never realized they could ask to see the viewing room. I suppose it has got to privacy issues?

Just out of interest how do they figure out the camera's are fake? Just by the look of them? or they steal or something to that effect and no consequence thereby having a sort of process of elimination?

Does the fake ones look exactly like the real ones ?

And does the real ones have infra red lamps ?
Cus if they do you just point your cellphone camera to it and you can then see the infra red light in a blueish colour.
Try it out with a normal TV/Aircon/Hifi .... remote, and you will see what i mean.

Screeper wrote: Within a few weeks all the staff will know which cameras are fake and which are not.

+1 Fake cameras don't work for any time period at all, mostly due to what DeeVeeDee is referring to - they don't look real, and the security team blabbering.
What we found to work very well is the installation of a 'hidden/covert' camera - and ensuring that someone on the shop floor finds out about it.
Our camera guys once installed a camera with a hidden wire running from it to a handy network point in the vicinity of the door of a change house that was getting vandalised often.
Change house stayed in pristine condition for as long as I know.
The fact that the camera was a blob of putty and the wire a stuffed fly-lead didn't seem to affect it's effectiveness at all...
Of course parking a bakkie with 'CCTV Installations' in front of the building at 04:00 on a Sunday morning - in perfect view of the nightshift guys' little coffee drinking area had nothing to do with it...

Screeper wrote: Every member of the staff is legally allowed to ask management to show them the views that the monitoring guys can see.

Errr, no? I know of no such legal compunction.
That's normally the HR department bending over backwards trying to keep the unions happy.
Stay out of bathrooms etc obviously and have your CEO or MD draft an employee brief stating that, due to ongoing theft blah blah blah, the company reserves the right to utilise electronic means to monitor your activities whilst in the workplace.