Believe it or not, a customer called our support line yesterday and insisted that his Dummy Surveillance Camera was a genuine person with a genuine issue, which begs the question. How smart are Dummy Cameras?

Closed Circuit Television Systems ( CCTV ) provide a very effective, highly obvious deterrent to crime. The location of a Security Camera is sometimes enough to send would be law breakers running off to go looking for a less complicated location to rip-off.

So is a Dummy Surveillance Camera as effective at forestalling crime as a genuine Security Camera? Employed in the right application, the answer's yes. A high quality Dummy Camera installed in a conspicuous location can supply an effective deterrent to crime.

Now before you run out and buy some Dummy Surveillance Cameras and place them all over your building, there are some really significant issues that you might want to take into consideration.

Consider the fact that, not only do CCTV Cameras provide a deterrent; the video recordings from CCTV systems can supply certain proof of any amount of illegal activities including robbery, shoplifting, muggings, assaults or perhaps murder.

Video from a Dummy Surveillance Camera hasn't ever been presented as proof in a Court of Law. A Dummy Camera can not help you solve a crime after it has occurred and I can assure you that no one has ever caught a shoplifter with a Dummy Camera.

Another really vital consideration that is typically overlooked with Dummy Surveillance Cameras is linked to personal liability and suits. There is something that lawyers like to call "Implied Security". This essentially means that if any one, including your people, consumers, renters or even just a passer by, see a Security Camera, they can have a reasonable expectation that the area is secure and that someone is watching that camera.

For example, if a woman was raped in your carpark, encircled by Dummy Cameras, you might be held partly responsible. This is naturally, if the woman felt fairly certain that she was safe in your carpark due to the Security Cameras.

Beware, that "Implied Security" can apply to Broken Cameras as well as Dummy Surveillance Cameras. If you have a CCTV Security System which includes some broken down cameras, you might want to get them fixed.

As an inexpensive theft deterrent, a Dummy Surveillance Camera can be a smart investment, but it'll never give you with the protection and peace of mind that are an inherent benefit of owning a complete CCTV system.