CCTV Installationin Sutton

The best systems start from a purpose, not a shopping list. You might want to know who is at the front door, keep an eye on a garage or side gate, cover a back garden, or watch a shop entrance or yard. Each aim points to different positions.

Before we visit, write down what has worried you and what you would want a recording to show, then put those in order of importance. That list drives the plan. It also helps us say honestly where a camera would be wasted, which keeps the number of cameras, and the cost, to what the property actually needs.

A layout that works for one building will be wrong for another, so nothing is suggested before we have seen the property. We walk the outside and the inside, note entrances and blind spots, and look at where power is already available.

We then explain the proposed plan in ordinary language and quote for it. You decide whether to go ahead once you have seen it, and nothing is fitted until you have agreed the positions and the cable routes. If something changes on site, we tell you before carrying on.

Footage that cannot be found is no use. A recorder normally stores the recordings, and many systems can be viewed remotely on a phone or tablet. We explain how the system we propose works and how you would look back at an event.

Two decisions are worth making early: how long you want footage kept, and who needs to see it. A household may need one or two viewers, while a shop or office may want several staff to have access. It is also worth thinking about whether the system should cover indoor areas as well as outdoor ones. Those answers affect what equipment is suitable, so we ask at the outset and not once cameras are on the wall.