Designing a Home Security system

[Nito]

Hi All,

I'm a home owner looking for some help designing a Security Camera system.

Situation: I have a malicious neighbor problem. The person is a known vandal and has experience with avoiding arrest. I've spoken to the Police but without physical evidence, I can not get a Court Order. Filing a complaint will be useless because he will bring false witness. Originally, I had planned on installing 12 cameras, 2 on each corner and additional cameras by each doorway and in the garage. But this has changed after talking with the Police; he'll just avoid the cameras and vandalize another area not covered by the cameras.

Design parameters: Due to the experience of the vandal has I'm considering a covert or hidden camera. My vender is suggesting small dome cameras with additional IR emitters. This could be done on one side of the house but may not work on the other side. I've seen some lighting fixtures with hidden cameras but my vendor does not have these; may have them in the future.

Thanks in advance Nito

 

[Masejoer]

Would motion-triggered lights potentially ward them off? What about a camera placed inside by a window, with exterior lighting? Anything mounted outside could be observed during installation or placement. Cameras can easily be overcome with any mask.

Years back when I installed analog systems, one job was a resident that had a neighbor's mentally-ill daughter always coming over and doing things like removing their downspouts. She was there staring over the fence the entire time we were there installing a half dozen cameras.

 

[nayr]

camera's he'll just wear a mask.. not avoid em, if done right it should be impossible to avoid all of them.

the key to catching this bastard will be live monitoring, install dedicated camera displays in your house and watch them.. next time you see him call the cops and prey they catch him in the act.. or handle him your self if you can take care of your self.

recording without identification is not evidence..

outdoor motion sensors, trip wire sensors, pressure mats, and other physical sensors work much better than motion sensing lights and cameras at notifying you reliably that someone is outside when your not watching the cameras.. my house talks to me, it announces when an external door or gate is opened, even mailboxes and sheds.. the key to a home security system is no false alarms, so when an alarm does trigger you respond correctly and quickly.. and use layers, because everything should not depend only on one thing ideally.

 

[Nito]

Thanks for the responses. I already have light on a timer that stay on all night and using 2 Covert cameras inside my home. The NVR is set on continuous with motion detect for book marking.

I'll definitely look into trip wires; continuous recording is eating up tons of HD space and is work to review video when looking for evidence.

 

[nayr]

are your covert cameras h264? My NVR does not record indoor cameras unless the alarm system is armed.

 

[Nito]

The NVR records in H.264 and is not connected to the alarm system. In addition, the NVR is on a separate network but have a port open on my Router if needed; i.e. if tech needs to connect to NVR.