Surveillance Equipment Checklist: What Your Department Needs
Are you managing a law enforcement team? Are you looking to take your surveillance capabilities to the next level?
The ongoing pandemic is changing people’s approach toward security. The global security industry is starting to pivot in a new direction where people are looking for more contactless security solutions.
Despite this shift in approach, the need to use top-notch surveillance equipment is more important than ever. This includes law enforcement, security agencies, and private companies, too.
What exactly should be on your surveillance equipment checklist? What are the surveillance tools that you need to arm your department with? Continue reading below as we discuss the essentials of your surveillance equipment needs.
The Security Camera
No surveillance equipment checklist is complete without the security camera. It’s one of the most trusted security solutions that people use to solve and prevent crimes.
Picking the right surveillance camera for your mission can be tricky, though, because there are many different types of cameras to choose from.
For starters, you have bullet-style cameras. These have a cylindrical shape and often protrude out of your walls and ceilings. These work well if you don’t care much about aesthetics or keeping the camera concealed.
Dome cameras stick out like bullet-style ones, but don’t reveal where the camera is pointing and can be mounted in-ceiling. This is a great option if you want a somewhat covert surveillance system.
A pan-tilt-zoom, or PTZ, camera could work if you want something that you can remotely control or auto-track objects and people. As the name implies, you can pan, tilt, and zoom the camera using video management software (VMS) locally or remotely via the cloud.
Moreover, you can program it to focus on specific areas. You can also track its movement automatically as it covers an extensive area. Since it can zoom, you can also look closely into smaller details.
What’s great is that these options work well for low-light situations because they come with an IR, as with most cameras on the market. Thermal cameras are also great options as well for these situations as they can detect movement in darker times and areas.
Audio Surveillance Equipment
Surveillance can also go beyond what the naked eye sees. Sometimes, it’s the ears that will do the work. In such cases, you need to invest in top-notch audio surveillance equipment.
One option is miniature voice recorders. These are small recording devices that disguise as credit cards or USB drives.
Since these devices are diminutive, you can easily hide them from your targets. The downside, however, is that they tend to have a short battery life.
Another powerful audio surveillance tool to add to your checklist is the radio frequency (RF) transmitter. To use an RF bug, you place it inside a room that you wish to monitor. Since it’s small, you can hide it seamlessly across different placements such as plugs, picture frames, and skirting boards.
Additionally, with technological advancements in security, you can turn your mobile phones into bugging devices. Here, you will reconfigure the smartphones to auto-answer. If someone picks up the call, the caller can listen secretly to the conversation taking place.
To pull this off, you don’t want the phone to show any outward signs. Thus, you can program the device to answer calls without ringing or vibrating.
Finally, there are GSM bugs. These come in the form of a small box that you can customize to look like a PC mouse or power strip adaptor.
The Telescopic Mast
If you’re looking for something that offers remarkable mobility, especially for outdoor surveillance requirements, then you need to invest in a telescopic mast. As the name implies, the telescopic mast gives you clear views from afar.
It’s perfect for tactical scenarios that require mobile video surveillance and other high-risk scenarios. What’s impressive about it is that it’s quick to deploy, which makes them perfect for when you need to record critical situations without prior setup. You can connect the telescopic mast to various vehicles in a matter of minutes.
Telescoping masts can also stream live videos and store them in the cloud.
Best of all, they’re low-maintenance and can survive the demands of large public events, including protests, parades, concerts, and festivals.
Signal Tracking and Interception
You also need to invest in signal tracking. This is perfect if you want to track targets from several meters away.
These trackers come in small RFID tags that you can surreptitiously place on individuals and objects. Thereafter, you can track the targets through the tags’ unique identifying signals.
If you wish to track moving vehicles, you’ll need a larger transmitter. An excellent option would be a GPS tracker that uses satellite networks to track targets at greater ranges.
You should also invest in signal interception equipment. These electronic bugs work by intercepting and rerouting calls for surveillance. You can attach these bugs to switch boxes and telephone lines.
Computer Surveillance
Last but not least are computer surveillance tools. These are surveillance software that you embed on computer hard drives. From there, the software can record all of the computer’s activities, including data storage and internet traffic going through the system.
Furthermore, the software can detect electromagnetic emissions coming from the keyboard and monitor. In turn, you can use these emissions to infer and decipher what the user is typing on his screen.
Key Considerations When Buying a Video Surveillance System
If you’re looking to boost your department’s video surveillance capabilities, there are key factors you must first consider. Aside from avoiding common mistakes in mobile surveillance, you need to consider the spots where you want to install the surveillance tools.
Here, it’s best to consult with a professional installer who can install the cameras.
You should also consider the type of camera that you need and the storage of your video data.
Boost Your Surveillance Equipment with a Telescopic Mast
By equipping your department with the right surveillance equipment, you can complete your mission quickly and efficiently. You can improve your agency’s response time while covering all bases. If you’re looking for a rapid deployment telescopic mast for your vehicles, then you came to the right place.
We offer high-quality telescopic masts for your different surveillance needs. Connect with us and tell us more about your surveillance requirements. Let’s boost your surveillance capabilities today!