Commercial CCTV Installation Discussed by Elite Fire & Security
CCTV is short for closed-circuit television and typically involves a fixed camera or multiple cameras which record an area either inside or outside depending on where they are fixed. Some cameras will rotate when they detect movement others will be in a fixed position. many businesses and commercial properties now have a Commercial CCTV system in place to protect their property, belongings, stock, staff and customers.
What should you consider before purchasing a CCTV system for your business or commercial property?
- Why do you want CCTV (protect your property, belongings, people or all of these things)?
- Do you need a wireless CCTV system?
- What distance do you need a view of?
- How long will you want to keep CCTV footage for?
- What lighting do you want to see images in (day and night or both)?
- How do you want to view your CCTV images (live, historical or both)
- Do you want on or off-site surveillance, or both?
- Do you want alert systems automated into your CCTV system?
Whatever the reasons you want to install a CCTV system at your property you should decide if you need internal or external cameras or both. There is no right or wrong answer and it all depends on your business, your property layout and the reasons for installing CCTV. Your first question is what you want to protect and where will the cameras need to be. You may just want to protect the outside and entrances to your property so you would have external cameras fitted in strategic places. External cameras will deter thieves from breaking in when they see you have them installed as well as providing you with alerts and evidence if any break-ins do occur. Having cameras inside will provide you with footage if anyone does break in and they are also used to survey different areas within your property to protect stock, high-value items or survey any activity happening from either staff or customers.
There are two options for storing photos and video footage collected from your CCTV cameras; a hard drive which would always need to be backed up or in the cloud which tends to be the safer option now with no risk of hardware being damaged or stolen and footage lost.
Storing CCTV footage in the cloud enables you or anyone with access to view it from any location as long as you have internet access. If you store the footage on a hard drive, you will need to be in the same location as the hard drive. Hard drives can break, be stolen, corrupt and in these situations, you will often not be able to recover historical footage.
Many professionally installed CCTV systems offer the option of receiving notifications when cameras are stimulated as well as being able to watch clear and concise images via your mobile phone. It often gives you peace of mind if you have a delivery due or just want to do an ad hoc check on your property if you can access your CCTV footage wherever you are and this is a huge benefit to a cloud-based storage system. If you see anything unusual or suspicious you can alert anyone inside and contact the police without having to be on-site which is another huge benefit. People often think that having CCTV cameras at their business or commercial property means you have to have someone surveying the footage 24/7, however, this normally only happens now in shopping centres or high-security establishments.
Some CCTV systems offer the option of you being able to speak to anyone who approaches your entrance from wherever you are. You may be expecting a delivery and you want to ask them to leave it with a neighbouring business or in a safe place, or you may want to ask whoever it is how you can help them. Some opportunist thieves will always ring the bell first to see if the property is empty before they attempt to break in so this is often a valuable addition to any CCTV system.
CCTV systems have come on leaps and bounds in the last 10 years and there is now new and exciting technology which enables you to customise your system to suit your business, property and needs.
Elite Fire & Security are experts in the design and installation of Commercial CCTV and many other security systems and we will come out to your property to do a free site assessment, Our security experts will spend time to understand your business, property and needs and will advise you on the CCTV and other security systems to suit your needs. After our site visit, we will design a security system which is bespoke to you and you will receive a free no-obligation quote. We will come back to your property and review our proposal with you and make any changes that you need before one of our expert teams returns to install your new system for you.
When your installation is complete we will fully test your new security system and provide you with in-depth training to ensure you know exactly how to use it and how to get the most benefit from it.
What are the legal requirements for CCTV?
If your business uses CCTV, you must register your details with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and pay a data protection fee, unless you are exempt.
You must also:
- tell people they may be recorded, usually by displaying signs, which must be clearly visible and readable
- control who can see the recordings
- make sure the system is only used for the purpose it was intended for – for example, if it was set up to detect crime, you must not use it to monitor how much work your staff do
You can find out everything you need to know about the legal requirements of CCTV here.
If you have any questions about the legal requirements of CCTV then we will be happy to help and advise you on this when we come out to complete your free site assessment.
Commercial CCTV Camera Resolution
Commercial CCTV Camera ResolutionAnother important factor to consider when installing CCTV is your camera’s resolution. If you buy a system which records at a resolution lower than 720P then this will not give you the video and photo quality that you need. As a result of this if any footage is ever passed to police or used as evidence for anything then the low resolution will not be clear enough to act as evidence and support a conviction.
CCTV cameras which record at 1080P plus will give high-quality clear resolution results and installing a CCTV system which records in 4K ultra definition is even better.
Elite Fire & Security only offers the best brands and quality of CCTV systems as we know and understand that anything less will be a waste of money for your business, however, we always work to a budget to suit you as well which gives you value for money and quality combined.
The frame rate of your CCTV cameras is another important factor to ensure you are able to view the details in your recordings. A camera which records at 15 frames per second ensures that movements captured don’t look stilted or blurred.
If you need CCTV footage which shows events in ‘real-time’, you will need a system which films and records at 25 frames per second, if you need to see people’s faces then a rate of 12 to 15 fps is suitable.
The higher the frames per second means you will need a much larger hard drive or iCloud storage capacity so this is important to consider.
Elite Fire & Security are experts in CCTV and will talk you through everything you need to know to ensure you have the right system installed, the specification you need, as well as the storage capacity you have available or will need. It is a complex process to ensure you have the right security system in place so always use a professional security company when it comes to planning and installation.
CCTV Installation at your Business or Commercial Property
You can use CCTV to protect your property but you must follow data protection law. You can find out everything you need to know from The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) here, this includes government guidance on how to use CCTV cameras, storing images and a checklist to help you assess your CCTV system.
In Summary:
- You must put up a sign to let people know CCTV is being used and why
- You should be able to provide images within a calendar month to anyone you have recorded
- You must share images with the authorities, including the police, if they are asked for
- You should only keep images as long as your business needs them
- You shouldn’t charge a fee for providing images or footage
How do I access recordings and images from CCTV?
A good CCTV system will store all footage and images for a specified amount of time which is normally determined by your needs. The images can be stored on a hard drive or in the cloud and advanced systems now allow you to view footage wherever you are, on a mobile device.
Do I need a Commercial CCTV system for my business or commercial property?
CCTV is a security device used by many businesses and property owners across the world. They deter criminals from breaking in and the footage available can be used to resolve internal disputes or used for evidence if criminal activity has occurred either inside or outside of your property. They are used in homes, businesses, public places, roads, churches, community halls, bars, nightclubs, restaurants, supermarkets, car parks, train stations, universities, colleges, schools, development sites, garages, factories and many more establishments.
A qualified and expert CCTV business like Elite Fire & Security will come out to your property, discuss your security concerns and needs and will recommend the best security solution for you.
Do you need permission to install CCTV?
You do need permission to install a CCTV system in or on a commercial site or property and this involves registering with the ICO and having a Privacy Impact Assessment conducted. When this has been completed in full CCTV can be installed and after this, the ICO’s strict guidelines must be followed. Elite Fire & Security will be able to help you and advise you with all of this information.
Is installing CCTV difficult or complicated?
If you are having a CCTV system installed at your business or commercial property it can be complicated to ensure the system provides you with the security you need so you should always use an expert like Elite Fire & Security. We will learn about your business and its security needs and design a bespoke system to suit your requirements and property. The environment and the system being used can be difficult so you should always use a qualified CCTV engineer to install your CCTV system.
How do I choose the right CCTV security system for me?
There are many different types of CCTV systems and they can all be configured to suit different types of environments and security needs. Choosing the right one for you with an expert will be complicated so using an expert and qualified CCTV engineer will ensure you end up with a comprehensive protection system which suits your needs and property.
Elite Fire & Security will come out to your property to assess your needs and your security hotspots to design the best security and CCTV system for you and your budget. The main types of CCTV systems are:
Dome CCTV Camera
Bullet CCTV
Infrared CCTV
IP CCTV
Wireless CCTV
High-Definition (HD) CCTV
Thermal Heat detection CCTV
C-Mount CCTV
Day/Night CCTV
What are the benefits of my business installing a CCTV system?
CCTV offers lots of benefits to protect your property, team and belongings by offering real-time surveillance if you need it or playback options.
- 24/7 365 days year protection for your premises with CCTV footage available for every area you have cameras positioned
- Reduces the risk of break-ins and vandalism to your property or business premises
- Monitors unusual activity and offers you historical footage of any unusual activity helping you to build a picture of times leading up to a break-in, disputes or delivery queries
- Aids decision making and can help you settle disputes with visitors, deliveries or staff from viewing historical footage
- Staff protection and confidence when working either alone or in smaller groups
- Health and Safety evidence and footage for any H&S issues or accidents
- Monitor time management and staff timekeeping
- Reduce insurance premiums
- Increases your property or business value
- Some businesses us it for market Research to monitor customer journey or footfall
Can I include CCTV in my current security system?
Yes, a professional security company like Elite Fire & Security will come out to assess your current security systems, your security hotspots and will recommend how to improve your security by integrating new systems such as intruder alarms, access control systems, gates & barriers.
Will installing a commercial CCTV system help protect my business?
CCTV is proven to be an excellent way to protect businesses, commercial properties and homes by deterring crime, thieves will be put off if there is a good security system in place with CCTV.
Can I use my Commercial CCTV system to watch my team?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives employees strong protection of their data and this stops employers from using CCTV cameras for different reasons than they were initially installed for. If you have installed CCTV to prevent customers from stealing stock or property then the footage cannot be used to track team members lunchtimes or breaks to be managed against. Always refer to The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) here which includes government guidance on how to use CCTV cameras, storing images and a checklist to help you assess your CCTV system which can be found here.
Is Commercial CCTV covered under the Data Protection Act (DPA)?
Domestic or Commercial CCTV is included under the DPA and the ICO and if you are using CCTV then you must complete a Data Privacy Impact Assessment to ensure you do not reduce the privacy of any data subjects.
Can I view my CCTV footage on my mobile phone?
Many business CCTV systems now connect to your mobile phone or smartphone, meaning you can view CCTV footage on the go, wherever you are. Even on small devices now the picture and image quality will be of the highest standard and provide clear high-definition images and video quality for you to view.
About Elite Fire & Security
We have carried out hundreds of jobs for businesses throughout Bristol, Bath, the South West & London and we are your professional security specialists and consultants who will help you decide which security system is right for you, your business and property.
We only install the highest quality, high resolution, clear image, weatherproof CCTV systems and components supplied by major manufacturers within the security industry, including low light and night vision CCTV systems which adapt to varying light levels.
We supply a wide range of CCTV systems from simple static and IP cameras to fully functional pan, tilt and zoom controlled systems.
We offer a full assessment, layout and design service. We design and install a bespoke security system suited to your business, environment, property and needs.
We offer planned maintenance, servicing and maintenance contracts for your CCTV system to maintain the quality of your ‘live’ and recorded images.
Our professional installation is carried out by our fully qualified and expert security specialists.
We offer emergency callouts and repairs if your system goes down and we can be there within 2 hours to assess and repair it, keeping your business secure and operationally efficient.
We provide software that allows you access to remote monitoring video surveillance, live footage from home, work or wherever you are on the go.
Following our installation service, full training will be given to you, your management and staff members.
We only use proven manufacturers, high-quality equipment and the latest security technology surveillance camera and security systems to ensure complete protection for your home, business or commercial property.
Our jobs vary in specification and size and we have extensive experience in all aspects of Fire and Security systems.
If you are thinking about installing a CCTV Camera System for your business or commercial property in Bristol, Bath, the South West or London contact us on 0333 577 1230 and one of our CCTV experts will be able to answer any questions you may have and can book in your no-obligation free site survey.
