Did you know that 75% of burglars take approximately 5 minutes to enter a home? Where do they get the confidence? Well, such confidence can only be explained by the lacklustre security measures homeowners have in place. While a dog, a garage door or a security screen door might deter burglars, these features are not foolproof and do not guarantee your home's security. Furthermore, burglars are getting smart by the day; therefore, you would be naïve to think that they use the same break-in methods repeatedly. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) or video surveillance has proved to be the best burglar deterrent for most households. However, your home is only as safe as your CCTV installation strategies. This article highlights vital tips to remember when installing and running video surveillance in your home. 

Consider Blind Spots — It is common to install CCTV in the most obvious areas around the house. For instance, the area above the door, at the gate, and the backyard porch are arguably the most common CCTV installation points. However, blind spots exist in every home, and you will be making a great mistake by ignoring them when installing the CCTV. The reason is that burglars always survey a home before they decide to hit it. During such a survey, they pay close attention to areas not covered by the CCTV range. As such, ensure that you walk around your home and identify possible blind spots that your CCTV might not cover. Once you have identified the spots, adjust the already installed cameras to cover these areas or simply install more cameras. 

Enable Offline Alerts — Most modern CCTV systems come equipped with capabilities that allow you to connect wirelessly with your smartphone or tablet. With this capability, you can log on to your account anytime and anywhere and remotely access your home cameras. However, burglars know this and will, therefore, cut off the power, destroy the cameras, or disconnect them when they break-in. This robs you of the ability to access the cameras, and you might not know what is happening. For this reason, it is important to buy a CCTV system with an offline alert system because you want to be notified when vandals break in and mess around with your video surveillance. Therefore, once installed, ensure that the offline alert system is always on.

Check Wi-Fi Strength — Advancements in video surveillance have contributed immensely to improved security in residential homes. For example, through Wi-FI or wireless network connectivity, homeowners can access video surveillance in their homes remotely whenever they want to. However, CCTV systems are only useful if there is a strong Wi-Fi signal. As such, always ensure that you check the Wi-Fi signal strength with each camera during installation. Remember the further away a camera is from the connection point, the higher the chances of the signal dropping out. If you own a multi-storey house, then you cannot go wrong with a Wi-Fi range extender.

To learn more about CCTV systems, contact a security company in your area.