Home security cameras catch criminals in the act, help in the courtroom

Posted February 20, 2011 10:51 am by Nadia Crow/SourceMedia Group News

CEDAR RAPIDS-Catching a criminal in the act. For years, businesses have used security cameras to catch shoplifters, break-ins, and other crimes. But now more homeowners find small cameras around their homes will protect their property and loved-ones. Video footage is now becoming a new way for homeowners to prosecute intruders.

More than 2,200 people in Cedar Rapids-Iowa City have a traditional burglar alarm system through Per Mar Security Services.

“It’s a feeling of safety; a feeling of security,” said Per Mar Security Services General Manager Michael Kaplan.

That’s something Electronic Engineering Security Consultant Eric Barker’s mother didn’t feel.

“The stove being turned on when she was gone; her papers being rummaged through,” said Electronic Engineering Security Consultant Eric Barker, “She almost thought she was losing her mind.”

So Barker installed this nanny cam in his mother’s house. The two found people going through items in her home.

“They had a key. They were going through her property and taking pictures of items,” said Barker.

Footage from the incident will be used in a pending civil lawsuit. But, you can bet if it goes to court, the video will be key evidence.

“It’s golden; a camera doesn’t lie,” said Barker.

Homeowners use security cameras to catch criminals in the act. Then the footage goes straight to police to help in the prosecution of vandals.

“You put a video of someone breaking the law in front of a jury case is closed,” said Barker.

Per Mar’s Michael Kaplan says his company works to prevent cases from making it into the courtroom.

“Cameras are really an after-the-fact solution,” said Kaplan.

He promotes a traditional alarm system. “Before somebody steps foot in their house a monitoring device goes off and someone like Per Mar notifies police,” said Kaplan.

Now new technology adds a video element.

“A different solution combines a traditional burglar system with the condition of being able to capture an image,” said Kaplan.

The new device is called a motion viewer system. A burglar trips the motion detector and the device captures ten seconds of video of the intruder. RSI Video technologies has numerous clips of burglars sneaking around homes across the nation caught on video in the act because of the motion viewer system.

The clip goes to a tech who then tells police it’s a real alarm triggered by a real incident. “It’s designed to say it’s a person versus a balloon versus a pet versus a ceiling fan or something like that,” said Kaplan.

Last year, the Cedar Rapids Police Department responded to 2,276 false alarms.

“When we dispatch police our percentage of false alarms to real alarms to police are a lot lower than that,” said Kaplan.

This device on top of a traditional system notifies police and captures an image for prosecution later. “We have it so if the police want it later they can see it,” said Kaplan.

The video can be used in not only criminal cases but civil lawsuits, too.

We’re able to have clear pictures of their faces. Who they were and what they were doing,” said Barker.

Barker says new technology makes video quality remarkably better compared to just five years ago. And the images and video are at the fingertips of the clients. Now, you can view your home security cameras on your cell phone or online 24 hours a day.

According to burglary experts Matt Johnston and Jon Douglas Rainey, hosts of It Takes a Thief, most homes are cased from the outside. Seasoned thieves know what to look for and focus on being able to get in and out of a home quickly, quietly and without being seen. There are a variety of affordable options, all of which help deter thieves and add security and safety to your home.

Read the rest of “Secure Your Home Without Breaking the Bank.”

Once the spray is used it’ll immediately result in dilating of the capillaries in the eyes, resulting in temporary blindness, chocking, coughing, and tearing of the eyes.  The spray will also cause an extremely intense burning on the skin and result in nausea.  The mucous membranes will also start to swell, making breathing extremely labouring.  The spray is extremely painful, frequently resulting from the individual who was sprayed to double over and fall to the ground.  It causes temporary incapacitation, because of the fact that the individual won’t have the ability to breathe or see properly.

Although the spray is very efficient with most, it might not have as a lot of an effect on people who are on drugs, drunk, or already hysterical.  With these kinds of people, you may need to give them a couple of fast sprays to the face to get the correct effect.  The overall effect on the length of the spray will all depend on the strength of the pepper spray.  Most pepper spray effects will last anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour.

Frequently times the spray is used with controlling riots or in self defense situations.  Pepper spray is extremely handy to have in violent assault situations, as a violent assault occurs each few seconds within the United States alone.  Pepper spray is safer to use than guns or knives.  It is also non lethal, although there have been rare cases where pepper spray has lead to death.  In these cases however, there were medical conditions present that the spray aggravated ? leading to death.

Pepper spray is fantastic to have around your house, or to carry with you at all times.  If a burglar breaks into your home although you’re there, you obviously want some thing to protect your self with.  A can of pepper spray is extremely efficient, and can easily stop somebody from attacking you.  All it takes is a direct spray to the eyes.

Although it’s extremely effective to have with you, pepper spray is illegal to have in some countries, such as the United Kingdom.  In the United States nevertheless, you will find some areas that need you to have a license before you are able to legally carry pepper spray.  Before you buy some pepper spray, you need to always make sure that you are able to legally carry it within the region you live in.

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Elderly Relatives

For those who have elderly relatives in your home or that are in their own house and who might have some physical limitations or medical difficulties, alarm systems for the home security alarm monitoring program could be of great assist.  If he or she has a medical emergency, many this kind of systems have an intercom that may be tripped from any point in the home.  This can summon the individual alternatively end of the monitor and rescue personnel can be known as.  Using this method, the elderly individual doesn’t need to make it to the phone, fumble with dialing, and so forth.

And also the panic button provided with many house protection alarm monitoring techniques, this can provide knowledge in case of an intruder or other threat, if the alarm has not been tripped itself.  By hitting the panic button and sounding the alarm, amount s of these to face the intruder or try to access the phone.

Children at House

When you have kids which are at house after school while you’re still at work or which you have with a babysitter, a home protection alarm monitoring systems can provide quite a bit of comfort for parents.  Knowing that the child or babysitter will not have to think if he or she ought to call the police or will have to face an intruder can provide you with a lot of satisfaction.  That there is a real live individual alternatively end of your house security alarm monitoring system is a good asset for many parents, who can rest assured that their kids won’t be left to fend for themselves in the event of an emergency.  The panic button is a great choice if they see somebody lurking outside or feel threatened; there’s no need to wait for alarm to be tripped.

These are just two common scenarios in a loved ones that might warrant a home protection alarm monitoring system.  They’re usually very affordable and simple to install, and can be well worth the time and investment.

This post is about something we used to see only in movies and I used to think it was science fiction, but biometric security is here. This technology has the ability to recognize and verify a person’s identity through their unique physical characteristics. Fingerprints, facial patterns, eye-mapping, and DNA analysis are examples of ways these tools distinguish one person from everyone else. Beyond those static characteristics, biometric equipment may also recognize how an individual’s voice or how they walk, sit, or stand.

High definition video cameras which are programmed to read facial features exist that can perform an accurate analysis on someone at a distance exceeding 200 yards.

The development of this technology was highly funded by the Federal Government and the Department of Homeland Security which is currently working on creating databases that will contain a person’s various biometric markers. So, in the future, they will be able to link different biometric systems that use fingerprints, eye-mapping, facial configuration, DNA, etc. It’s only a matter of time.

New technology is always pricey, but at the rate biometric systems are expanding and improving, it may only be a couple of years before a product using some type of biometrics is available and affordable for the average consumer.

Here’s a short video about one type of biometric security we may all be using one day soon.

A quick aside about cameras is they allow you to monitor your home, at home or remotely. People use them to keep an eye on their children while playing as well as watching out for burglars. Most have a recording option so you can check the footage later, just like you see on TV crime dramas. Many people prefer to use cameras instead of a traditional alarm, others recognize the added protection of running both, which I personally agree with.

The weakness with wireless is the power supply. Components don’t run off your home’s electrical system, they’re battery powered and of course batteries need to be replaced every so often.

The practical advantages of using wireless are its mobility and easy installation. You don’t need to be an electrician or work with sheetrock to install it, and the system location in your home is more flexible. If you move, it’s so much easier to take it with you and re-install it in your new home.

It’s very important to read customer reviews, this way you’ll know which brands are reliable. There are tons of alarm system product reviews that you can find online. When reading customer reviews, it’s imperative to know whether the customers find the alarm system easy to operate. Ease of use is one of the things I always look for in a system. It would be great if you can find professional reviews and see how experts rate the device.

You can start comparing by sorting the list of home protection systems by how many sensors would cover your house if you are going to purchase that particular system. Some only cover the front and back entrance ways. If you think this is what you need then go for it, but if you need more, you can opt for a system in which you can place sensors near windows or any other area around the home. I’d go for an alarm system that can cover every entry point in my home for added peace of mind.

Don’t forget to review and look at the keypad of the home security systems you are checking on. Check if they are easy to operate and handle. List down all the features and see which ones will add better protection to your home. Newer home systems already include carbon monoxide or smoke detecting device. You want to make your final decision by matching your home security needs with the features and reliability of the alarm system you want to purchase. Needless to say, you also have to look for something that will best fit your budget.

As a Lafayette homeowner, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of every person who lives in my house. The most reasonable and efficient way on how I can do this is by installing a security system. Home alarm systems can be very complicated and pricey but as long as you know what your protection needs are and where to look, everything else becomes easier.

Determining where you’re at risk means surveying your home and counting how many windows and doors you want to be integrated into the home security system. I will include all possible entry points if you ask me. This is not hard to do at all right? But, a home security review of your home is a must. Your next task is to identify all possible locations for the control panel and keypads. Most people find it convenient to place a keypad close to the front door and close to the bedrooms as well. The control panel is the one which commands alarm systems and the keypad lets you program the system on and off.

The third step is to figure out how far away your windows and doors are from the control panel. This will help you determine exactly how far wires will be routed should you opt for a wired alarm system or how far wireless alarm systems need to communicate with sensors in your home. For added safety, you can choose to have your system monitored 24 hours a day. This comes with a monthly fee but I’m telling you that it’s worth every penny! If you want a cheaper alternative, you can opt for a basic sensor system that comes with a dialer accessory that connects the system to your phone lines and dials pre-selected numbers if your home’s security has been breached.

Lafayette is like any city, it has it’s share of crime. Did you know that burglary takes place every 15.4 seconds? That gave me shivers and I immediately thought about my family’s safety. Luckily, there are so many options to choose from.

There are two basic types of home security systems-indoor and outdoor. How do indoor systems work? They check for opening of doors and windows or signs of movement inside the house. The system can detect movements by using motion sensors. With the indoor system, you have to enter a special code into the control set and this will let you set your alarm whenever you need to, of course you can turn it off before you enter your house.

What about the outdoor system? It monitors your grounds and most of these systems are programmed to turn on flood lights at the slightest hint of movement on your grounds. Latest models already have the ability to check the size and weight of the intruder before setting off the alarm. The result? Fewer false alarms! Now you can stop blaming your neighbor’s cat for ruining your sleep every night. Some outdoor systems also include driveway alarms so you can keep car thieves at bay.

You also have to decide whether you want electric or battery-powered alarm system. Although battery-powered are considered to be more reliable in case of a power shutdown, you have to check the battery supply on a regular basis unlike the electric alarm.

If you have extra money to spare, why not go for a sophisticated and state-of-the-art system? You can opt for the added security of CCTV and wireless video surveillance. These usually consist of numerous transmitters and one receiver that are connected to your TV or VCR. For added peace of mind, you can choose an alarm system that comes with a built-in smoke detector.

Always remember though that we cannot entirely depend on this technology because we have to do our part as well. Invest in sturdy doors and windows that you can bolt and lock. Place grills on your windows so that if somebody destroys the glass and tries to break in, he won’t be able to. Lastly, make sure you have adequate lighting around the house. As they always say, nothing discourages a would-be intruder more than a bright light.