Mitigate Vandalism to Your Outdoor Security Camera
We can use an outdoor security camera to catch vandals in the act if they are defacing private property. But how do you protect the camera itself from vandalism? While there are no 100% vandal proof solutions, we can reduce the risk greatly by considering these four key factors when installing our outdoor security camera.
The first consideration the camera/housing design, this will determine how much physical abuse the camera can take, as well as how well it is hidden from being noticed. Second we can strategize our mounting of the camera. The next consideration is the placement. And as a final safeguard the implementation of intelligent video alarms can help keep our cameras safe.
When it comes to the housing or casing of a camera, one made of metal is better protection against vandalism than something made of plastic. Also, a boxy traditional camera that sticks out of a wall or ceiling is much more susceptible to being damaged than a dome shaped encasement. It helps to be hidden and disguised as part of the environment, since the chance of being recognized is minimized.
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.
Installing alarms is a more costly but very effective measure. It can alert operators if there is some level of tampering on the camera. This prevents redirection or obscured viewing from going unnoticed. Active tampering alarm features are very useful in a large installation with many cameras and keeping track to make sure all the cameras are working properly can get complicated. This way someone will be alerted if one of your outdoor security cameras aren't working as it should.