Video surveillance in entrance hall. 5 main installation rules

If your home is your fortress, then the gate will be the weakest point. We can say that entrances of apartment buildings always remain places of increased danger. That is why a video surveillance camera in the entrance makes it possible to reduce the likelihood of offenses, significantly reduce the flow of unwanted visitors and at the same time record all the events that occur. Our article is about how to properly install a video monitoring system.

Objective need for video monitoring in entrances

Not a single resident of an apartment building wants to see in their entrance:

• drug addicts and people without a fixed abode;
• hooligans and people who like to paint the walls;
• people posting ads;
• groups of teenagers who constantly litter and make noise;
• adepts of various cults;
• regular strangers.

In addition, video surveillance in the entrance reduces the risk of conflicts between neighbors, acts of vandalism, theft and robbery. And in the event of any illegal actions, disputes or conflicts, video recordings are successfully used as an evidence base.

How to organize video surveillance in apartment buildings?

Many residents of apartment buildings do not have information about the rules for installing CCTV cameras. Pay attention to the following aspects.

New housing and video surveillance

New apartment buildings, as a rule, are commissioned with a built-in visual control system (in entrances, elevators and/or in the local area). In this case, video monitoring was laid down at the design stage and put into operation along with all engineering systems, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. Additional approvals are not required.

Old housing and video surveillance

Apartment buildings can be equipped with a video surveillance system by the decision of the management company or by the decision of the housing cooperative.

In any case, the initiator undertakes all organizational activities. Decision of the general meeting of apartment owners is required. This resolves the issue of consent/disagreement (at least 2/3 votes “FOR” required) for the installation of the system, appointment of a responsible person and payment. Other approvals (with authorities and supervisors) are not required.

Personal initiative

In the event that a resident of an apartment building wants to install video surveillance on the door of their apartment, they can use a video peephole, video door phone or the Faceter service. Details in the article “Installation of video surveillance at the front door“. Please note that if certain conditions are met, agreement with the housing coop is not required.

To learn more about video door phones, read the article from our blog “Video door phone as a protective device“.

How to organize parking surveillance from your apartment?

If you are afraid for your car, which you regularly park in the yard, then you can use the method of video surveillance from your apartment.

You can contact a specialized company: they will select a high-quality PTZ camera with high resolution, IR illumination and protection against natural influences (temperature difference, moisture). You will also need additional equipment and software.

The cost of this solution is at least 40-45 thousand rubles per camera.

An alternative method of parking control is the installation of a video monitoring system from Faceter. We have a specially designed system for entrances, housing cooperatives and parking lots.

5 basic installation rules

For video surveillance (apartment building entrance) to be legal and effective, the following rules must be observed:

1. To avoid violation of Art. 24 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation (which regulates the collection, storage, sharing of information about private life) and Art. 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (on violation of privacy) in the places where cameras are installed, it is necessary to place signs warning about video surveillance. These can be text/image posters, signs, stickers. Covert surveillance and use of camouflaged micro equipment is prohibited.
2. Appoint a person in charge by the decision of the homeowners. Record the decision of the meeting.
3. Install cameras in strategic locations (under the canopy, in the lobby near the elevator). Provide maximum video overview. Cameras must be securely mounted.
4. Choose technical solutions that allow you to maintain 24/7 remote access, control all cameras and receive quick notifications about events on your phone. Also consider the likelihood of system scaling and implementation of intelligent analytics in the future.
5. Choose cloud video surveillance. It frees the user from data storage issues, its legal protection and provides for automatic software updates.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I cannot but say about the psychological impact of video surveillance on the human psyche. The presence of a camera in the entrance of an apartment building ensures a more decent behavior of residents and visitors: being in the field of view of a camera changes their behavior for the better. Read about the results of social experiments on this topic in the article “Effects of video surveillance on the human psyche“.