What does a CCTV installation include?
A sensible camera layout for the property, the cabling to each position, the recorder, and remote viewing set up on your phone before we leave. Security lighting and door entry round out the package where you want them.
The layout is the part worth spending time on. Cameras positioned to cover approaches and entry points are far more useful than cameras pointed at the middle of a garden, and a smaller number in the right places usually beats a larger number in the wrong ones. We will walk the property with you and say where we would put them and why, including where a camera would be pointless.
Do I need permission to point a camera at the street?
You do not need permission, but once a domestic camera captures anything beyond your own boundary, data protection law applies to you as the operator, and the Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance for domestic CCTV users.
In short: point cameras at your own property as far as you can, let neighbours know, put up a sign where the system covers a shared or public area, and be able to respond if someone asks for footage of themselves. None of it is onerous, and most of it is avoided at the design stage by aiming cameras thoughtfully. We will flag it while we are planning positions rather than leave you to find out.
For a business the same principles apply with more formality, and signage is expected rather than optional.
Who has access to the system afterwards?
You do. The system is yours, you decide what it records and who can view it, and we hand you the administrator login when we finish.
We need access while we install, commission and test, which means we may briefly see footage. We do not copy it and we do not keep it, and we do not retain an installer login afterwards unless you ask us to keep one so we can support the system remotely, which we would agree with you in writing first. Our privacy notice sets this out as a section of its own, because it is the part of this trade that gets closest to people's private lives.
What we cover
- CCTV cameras and recorders
- Remote viewing set up on your phone
- Door entry systems
- Security and PIR lighting
- Camera positions planned with you
Common questions
Can I view the cameras when I am away?
Yes. We set up remote viewing on your phone as part of the installation and show you how it works before we leave.
Will you fit a CCTV kit I have already bought?
Yes. We will tell you first if what you have bought is not suitable for the property, and we guarantee our work fitting it rather than the equipment itself.
Do cameras need to be near a power supply?
Each camera needs power and a data path, though many systems carry both over a single cable from the recorder. Planning the positions and the cable runs together is what keeps the installation tidy.