CCTV Placement: Getting Coverage Right the First Time

Most surveillance gaps are not camera problems, they are placement problems. A short guide to planning coverage before anything is mounted.

Most surveillance disappointments are not camera problems. The footage exists, it is simply pointing at the wrong place, lit from the wrong direction, or recorded at a retention setting that expired before anybody went looking.

Decide what each camera is for

Every camera should have one clear job, and the job determines the position. A camera meant to identify a person needs to be close, at face height, covering a narrow choke point such as a doorway. A camera meant to observe activity across a yard is a different device in a different place. A single camera asked to do both usually does neither.

Plan on paper first

• Entry and exit points. Every route in and out should be covered at identification quality.
• Choke points. Corridors, staircases, lift lobbies and gates give better coverage per camera than open areas.
• Light direction. A camera facing a window or an entrance at sunrise will silhouette everyone walking through it.
• Mounting height. High enough to be out of reach, low enough that faces are not reduced to the tops of heads.
• Assets and cash points. Stores, server rooms and counters usually justify dedicated coverage.

Recording settings matter as much as placement

Resolution, frame rate and retention period together decide how much storage the system needs. Retention is the setting most often left at a default and most often regretted: incidents are frequently reported days or weeks after they happen. Agree a retention period that reflects how quickly issues actually surface at your site, then size the storage for it.

Decide what each camera must prove before you decide where it goes.

Check the view after installation, and again later

Camera views drift. Vegetation grows, stock gets stacked, furniture moves and a mounting bracket takes a knock. A periodic review of live views against the original plan takes very little time and is the difference between a system that works and one that only appears to.