Wireless Home Alarms – Home Security Cameras Catch Probable Burglar in the Act

Here’s a story of a burglary that didn’t happen, but the probable intruder’s approach is the same one reported more and more: knock on the front door, and when there’s no answer, go to the back of the house and find a way in. I read hundreds of crime reports every month, and this method is moving up the charts as a favorite tactic for illegal entry. In this case from Long Island, NY the neighbor’s dog scared the potential perp away, but not before the homeowner’s security cameras caught the man in the act – and provided police with excellent footage as evidence. Here’s the link to the news story, including a short video.

It happens that this particular homeowner is a surveillance professional, so he’s pretty serious about using home security cameras as a means of deterrence and detection. After this incident, he even decided to add more cameras, covering his neighbors’ home as well, in the spirit of community members looking out for each other. The good news for the average homeowner is that you no longer have to spend a lot of money (or be in the surveillance business!) to include video in your home security arsenal. Adding cameras is fast, inexpensive, and remarkably simple. I posted on the topic of affordable home video back in September – here’s a link to that post – and here’s a timely excerpt, as the holidays approach:

One my favorite customer stories is from upstate New York, where a FrontPoint customer was able to record the license plate of the car driven by deer poachers trespassing on her property – with a camera pointed out the front window. Another customer had footage of his neighbor “borrowing” some presents left by UPS on the customer’s front porch just before Christmas.

So, let’s review a few benefits of home video.

• Today’s cameras allow you to view live video from any web connection, including your web-enabled phone. There are even free video apps for iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid users. This means you can watch the kids come home from school, your pets, or even a contractor or other service provider.
• The best cameras also have motion-sensing capability (called video analytics) built in – this means the camera only records when it senses motion. The short motion-activated clip can be sent to you real-time, and even stored remotely where you can retrieve it.
• Indoor cameras are generally wireless, and work on your local Wi-Fi network, which makes them very easy to set up. The outdoor models are more likely to be hard-wired and powered over the network cable – a bit more work, but no problem for the average homeowner.

You may have your own great reasons to use security cameras in the home – or outside. We’d love to hear your stories and ideas – feel free to post your comments here, and we’ll share them with our blogosphere! FrontPoint specializes in all aspects of interactive, wireless home security products and services that make peace of mind safer, smarter, simpler, and more affordable – and home security cameras have become an important and convenient component of a fully functioning system to protect your home and family. How do you – or would you - use security video in your home?