CCTV Newstead

Why it happens

One camera is mounted high in a corner to take in as much of the basement as possible. Spread across that width, a number plate occupies a handful of pixels, and headlights at the ramp blow out the exposure just as the vehicle is closest. The footage is technically fine; the detail was never there to capture.

Why it matters

Vehicle damage, theft from cars and tailgating into the basement are the incidents most likely to occur, and the ones you are most likely to be asked about by a resident, an insurer or the building manager. A recording that shows a dark hatchback at 11:42pm ends the conversation rather than advancing it, and the cost of the system has bought you nothing you can use.

What we do

We split the job. A dedicated camera low and close to the roller door or ramp, aimed where vehicles slow. Separate wider cameras for the aisles, the lift lobby door and your own basement entry. At handover we drive a car in and check the plate is actually readable in the recording, by day and at night.

Why it happens

The easiest mounting point is often on a wall or soffit that belongs to the building, and the clearest view of your door happens to sweep a lobby, a residential entry or a neighbouring balcony. It gets installed because it works, without anyone raising it with the building manager or committee.

Why it matters

It turns a security measure into a dispute. Residents raise it at a meeting, the committee asks for the camera to be removed, and you lose the coverage entirely rather than negotiating it. You may also end up holding footage of people in their homes, which is a far heavier obligation than footage of your own doorway.

What we do

We identify at design stage which views cross common property, tighten or mask them to what is defensible, and give you a simple plan of camera positions and fields of view to put to the building. If a view cannot be agreed, we propose an alternative inside your own boundary. Questions about privacy obligations we point to the OAIC or your own adviser rather than guessing at them.

Why it happens

Tenancies are short on space, and a comms or services cupboard is cool, out of the way and already has power. In a strata building that cupboard is often common property, with a key held by the building, the cleaners, the lift contractor and whoever had it last.

Why it matters

The recorder is the whole system. Anyone who can reach it can unplug it, take the drive, or simply switch off the power board it shares with a vacuum cleaner. Cupboards like that also run hot and dusty, which shortens drive life, and the failure is silent — you find out weeks later when you go looking for footage that was never written.

What we do

We relocate the recorder inside your secured area wherever the cabling allows, in a lockable enclosure on its own supply, with the alarm covering the space it sits in. Where it genuinely has to stay in a shared cupboard, we secure the enclosure, restrict the key, and set up health alerts so a drive failure or a loss of recording is reported rather than discovered.

Why it happens

Cameras keep showing a live picture on the monitor long after the recording side has stopped — a failed drive, a full disk with overwrite misconfigured, a channel dropped after a power event. Nothing announces it. Inherited systems are worse again, because the previous installer's settings and logins came with no documentation.

Why it matters

You are running on an assumption. If the recording stopped in March, every incident since has no footage, including the one you will be asked about. And even when the footage exists, an export that produces a proprietary file nobody can open is not much better than no footage at all when a deadline is on it.

What we do

We inspect the recorder, confirm every channel is writing, check real retention against what you believe you have, and hand the administrator credentials to you in writing. Then we export a clip together and play it back on a normal computer. Older analogue equipment gets an honest assessment of whether it is worth keeping — our guide on analogue versus digital CCTV covers the trade-offs. Ongoing checks sit under security system servicing.