CCTV For Social Housing Surveillance Security Systems For Public Housing

Why should CCTV be installed in social housing?

Enhanced Security: CCTV often helps to deter criminal activities and will make residents feel safer with continued surveillance of public and commonly used areas. Clear and visible cameras will also increase the overall security of a housing complex.

Improved Safety: CCTV not only helps managers to monitor staff performance but it has also been known to help ensure that emergency services can quickly locate and respond to incidents, therefore providing peace of mind for residents.

Enhanced Privacy: Naturally, some residents may be concerned about the privacy implications of installing a CCTV system. However, CCTV actually helps to protect residence privacy by informing them of who is visiting the housing complex and therefore deterring unwanted visitors. Residents should always be made aware that the system is recording.

Enhanced Community Cohesion: Often, CCTV will assist in fostering a sense of community amongst social housing residents by providing feelings of safety and security. It can also help to build trust between residents and housing authorities.

Cost-Effective: CCTV is the cost-effective way to enhance security and safety in social housing; it also requires minimal maintenance and can be easily monitored remotely. Staffed security teams can be challenging to organise and are often very expensive. Also,  CCTV can sometimes be used to monitor the behaviour of residents and ensure that they follow rules and regulations.

Improved Maintenance: Housing authorities often use CCTV systems to quickly identify and address maintenance issues, leading to a better overall living experience for residents.

Evidence: CCTV footage can be used as evidence in legal proceedings, such as in the case of a crime being committed within the housing complex.

Reduce/Control Fly Tipping: Visible cameras and clear signage often deter people from illegally dumping waste in areas they shouldn’t. In the likely event that illegal waste is discarded, the clarification of the CCTV cameras will always help in bringing to justice those perpetrators that were responsible,

Control Waste Management: Clear signs and cameras covering communal bin stores helps to instil tighter control on the usage of general household waste management facilities by both residents and employees alike. 

How does it work? 

A typical comprehensive solution initially proceeds with us installing a CCTV system into an unmanned remote site (shelter or social); these sites are generally of varying formats and sizes. We usually install a 4G router with a cross-polarised antenna, the required cameras, and other equipment to allow full remote connectivity. 

Once a week, we remotely log in to perform a full diagnostic check on every system at all sites to ensure that all systems operate correctly. Any issues that arise are immediately actioned and rectified remotely or in person. Most problems are quickly solved and are usually under warranty. 

Whenever an incident at any of these sites requires the footage to be downloaded, we are sent a report of the site location along with the date and approximate time of the incident by the end-user or the police download requests to us if it is a serious incident. If requested by the customer or the Police, an A101 form must be filled in and countersigned for security purposes. There are strict protocols that we have to adhere to when extracting any data. With any download, it is either collected by the requesting party or sent via Axon to the Police, which is a secure site they use to send sensitive information. A link is sent to us that expires after a certain amount of time. We hold any footage we download for six months, and then it is safely destroyed. We can download footage remotely for all smaller file sizes/footage requests; we would need to attend the site to extract larger footage requests, and we use encrypted portable USB memory sticks to do this.

All of our comprehensive installations are equipped with a hard drive to store camera footage for around four weeks. Our clients continue to report that they see an immediate reduction in any prevalent problems, such as drug use, anti-social behaviour or litter/waste dumping, as soon as the systems are installed. By utilising us for the complete service, you not only save a vast amount of money, but you will also be safe in the knowledge that all GDPR protocols are being met. We can also offer different levels of installation and support, all dependent on a customer’s specific requirements.