With the wide-spread use of home WIFI networks, security cameras have quickly become a popular theft deterrent for homeowners across St. Charles Parish.
Cameras help alert local homeowners to everything from online package or pizza deliveries and the arrival of visiting guests, to uninvited burglars attempting to break into cars or homes. Many local homeowners have social media groups where sharing short home security camera video clips can be beneficial information to neighbors, helping increase awareness and further deter local crime.
Home security camera systems have become not only useful to local homeowners, but they have also become a critical crime-fighting tool for the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, who has found them invaluable in solving various types of crimes.
“We probably use them the most for vehicle burglaries,” Lieutenant Jeremey Pitchford, 22-year law enforcement veteran with the St. Charles Parish Sherriff’s Office, commented.
The Sheriff’s Office has been able to use home security cameras for a wide variety of real-world uses, such as solving hit-and-run vehicular crimes. Security cameras footage can offer lots of key information detectives can piece together in different ways.
“It has helped us get a description of suspects and identify witnesses to a crime,” Pitchford said. “It has [also] helped us to identify vehicles that may have been used in a crime, and the vehicles of witnesses.”
Sometimes, Pitchford said, video surveillance has captured the actual elements of a crime being committed, which – if captured on video – is damning evidence for a would-be criminal.
“Several years ago, we had a residential burglary where the victim’s home surveillance cameras showed the suspects going into the residence and then carrying property out of the residence,” he said, clearly capturing the key elements of the crime taking place.
Lieutenant Pitchford offered a few helpful tips for local homeowners considering installing security cameras for additional protection. Four cameras would be an ideal minimum number of cameras for most homes, allowing the homeowner to cover the typical corners of a residence, Pitchford said, “but one is better than none.”
Pay particular attention to light, as light can affect what the camera can or can’t see or record.
“Avoid pointing the cameras at light sources,” Pitchford advised. “It is better to have the light behind the cameras and pointed in the same direction as the cameras.”
Also, Lieutenant Pitchford mentioned, pay close attention to the height and location of your camera placement – don’t place security cameras too high or too far away from the area you are trying to record.
“A common problem we notice is that video surveillance systems tend to have the wrong time or date, so it is important to check your system frequently to ensure the time stamp is correct,” he said. Having the correct time and date stamp can be a critical component if your security camera footage is ever needed as evidence.
When installing home security equipment, homeowners should be cautious not to record sensitive areas where neighbors might expect privacy.
“For example, if your neighbor has a 6-foot privacy fence around their backyard, you should not have your cameras recording that area,” he said.
Price is one area that can sometimes make a big difference when it comes to home security cameras. Purchasing inexpensive cameras will often result in inexpensive video footage, Pitchford commented, so consider all the options and choose which surveillance system fits your needs and your budget.
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