Do I Need A Home Security Camera?

The first question you may ask yourself is simple: is a security camera necessary in the first place? And the answer depends on the level of security you want to add to your home or business. While sensors can detect motion, letting you know if doors or windows have been opened or closed, without cameras, you can’t actually see what’s going on at home.

Cameras can also get you help faster; in terms of audio verification versus video verification, the police department in Fremont, California found that audio verification alone had a 95 percent chance of being a false alarm; Salt Lake City found false alarm rates of 82 percent, while the police in Burien, Washington found rates of 92 percent.1 In sum? Audio isn’t enough on it’s own; for the police to really see what’s going on, a camera is necessary. In contrast, cities that use video-verified responses found that the number of alarm calls they got decreased by about 90 percent overall, improving their response times so people could get help faster.

Camera footage can also be useful in a criminal investigation if you do end up being burgled. Michael Worgul, a criminal defense attorney based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said that “Surveillance camera footage is often used as evidence in criminal cases…It is easy to see how surveillance camera footage could be relevant if it depicts a person committing a crime”.2 For these reasons, we recommend installing security cameras in addition to sensors at your home or business.