Is home video surveillance not your thing? If so, it might be time to reassess. What used to be technology reserved only for people with financial means is now affordable enough that virtually any homeowner or apartment renter can afford at least one wireless camera.
The fact is that crime is an ongoing problem. Every year, millions of homes are burglarized. In a post published earlier this year, Vivint Smart Home cited 2017 statistics from the federal government indicating 5% of all American homes were victimized that year. But guess what? Burglary is not the only issue.
There are all sorts of things that can go wrong at home, things that could be prevented if perpetrators knew their actions were being recorded. Below are just a few examples. If any of them relate to how you live your daily life, you might want to reconsider your lack of interest in home video surveillance.
Keeping an Eye on Your Pets
Home video surveillance is a great tool for keeping an eye on your pets. When your pets are home alone, they may inadvertently get into trouble. Video surveillance will not prevent that, but it will enable you to see what is going on when you are not there. Knowing what your pets are doing gives you the opportunity to take extra steps to prevent them from injuring themselves or ruining your property.
On a more ominous note, you might also want to keep an eye on anyone providing care for your pet. Consider the company that provides dog walking services. Video surveillance makes it possible to keep track of when your pets are picked up and when they are dropped off. And in the event you have a dog walker who insists on rifling through your possessions, home video surveillance can catch him or her in the act.
Keeping an Eye on the Sitter
Another good reason to install home video surveillance is to keep an eye on the babysitter. In a perfect world, this would not be necessary. Unfortunately, the world we live in is far from perfect. We have all seen news stories of babysitters and nannies not treating children properly.
Hidden video surveillance can uncover behavior that you suspect but have not yet proved. More conspicuous video surveillance can prevent unwanted behavior altogether. Both strategies are equally legitimate in this day and age.
Once the kids are old enough to no longer require professional childcare, your home video surveillance system has a new purpose: to help you monitor your kids while you are at work. You can make sure they arrive home from school on time. You can monitor them to make sure they are doing their homework. The cameras act as an extra set of eyes to help you stay abreast of what is going on at home.
Keeping an Eye on Contractors
There are times when homeowners have to allow contractors to work inside their homes unattended. Maybe you’re thinking of a kitchen remodel that will take two weeks to complete. You cannot take the time off from work, so you have to trust that your contractors will behave themselves properly in your home. A video surveillance system can act as great motivation.
The contractor who knows that video surveillance is taking place is less likely to help himself to the food in your refrigerator or sit down and watch television when he should be working. Knowing he is being watched also makes the contractor more cognizant of your personal property. He is less likely to be careless while working inside your home.
Finally, home video surveillance is a good way to dissuade contractors from working part-time as thieves. They will not even think about snooping around your home if they know you have video cameras installed in every room.
We live in a world filled with crimes of opportunity. Many of those opportunities exist in your home. Your best bet for avoiding being victimized is to take away as many opportunities as you can. One way to do that is to install a home video surveillance system. Video surveillance is one of the most effective ways to prevent criminal activity in your home.
