Surveillance cameras are everywhere these days: businesses, offices, homes, parks, you name it. They collect a huge volume of evidence that can help solve traffic incidents, criminal cases or civil disputes. But are those security cameras providing the best possible evidence?
Often, camera placement issues prevent getting the best results.
Jeff Coburn, the FBI’s assistant special agent in charge in Kentucky, recently told WKYT that today’s sophisticated video surveillance cameras produce images with such clarity that they have helped the bureau achieve a clearance rate of 60 percent for bank robberies nationwide. Those images can often be enhanced and analyzed through audio/video forensics to reveal even more detail when necessary.
But for the best results, those cameras should be placed where they can capture the best possible results in the first place, the FBI advises.
- PLACE CAMERAS AT EYE LEVEL: Cameras posted near a ceiling might cover more area, but that is not usually the best angle for capturing a suspect’s face. A ball cap might hide the face from a camera gazing downward, for instance.
- DON’T AIM CAMERAS TOWARD BRIGHT LIGHTS: Lights from a large window or a bright lamp can leave suspects silhouetted and difficult to recognize. Choose an angle that won’t have suspects between the camera and a bright light source.
- DON’T PLACE CAMERAS TOO FAR AWAY: For the best chance at identifying a suspect, the face should make up about 15 percent of the image, the FBI says. A camera too far away is not likely to capture a close look at the suspect’s face.
- USE MULTIPLE CAMERAS: The more angles covered, the better the odds of obtaining useful evidence.
We hope you never need video evidence to investigate, but the tips above will improve your chances in the even that you do. And an expert audio/video forensics examination can boost those odds even further in your favor.
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