How effective are CCTV systems at catching vandals?

[socalfusions 0]

So I've recently been a victim of what I believe to be retaliatory vandalism after vouching for a noise complaint against a neighbor in court, shortly after a vehicle drove through my street throwing beer bottles everywhere but coincidentally enough only hitting a neighbors car and mine, I believe they scattered the bottles throughout the street to make it look like a random act of vandalism instead of a targeted one which of course would make it harder to pin it on them. A few of my neighbors came out to check what the commotion was all about where one stated their vehicle was hit. I reported the incident to the police to create a paper trail and after inquiring that the neighbor who I testified against might have been behind it the dispatcher said another neighbor identified the general make of the vehicle they used which unsurprisingly fit the description of what the culprit had. Unfortunately I don't have a surveillance system yet but am in the plans of purchasing a dual Hikvision setup but am very curious to what would have happened if I did have one. Let's say they did in fact use their own vehicle as described by the witness and I had it caught on video, would that be enough proof to nail them for the act? Would I have needed to capture the license plate? I'd presume that the lower end Hikvisions could see a license plate, maybe needing higher zoom lenses though. Is it easy or cheap to add audio to such a setup?

[Numb-nuts 1]

This is a question that almost nobody can answer definitively, so looking for a definitive answer is a waste of your time since there are No Guarantees! In the first place recorded evidence can give police a better understanding of the overall picture which a witness statement can never do as well as actually seeing the events. The two combined are a powerful combination for law enforcement use.

There are going to be instances where number plate capture can be realistic but you have to plan to set this up and it doesn't happen with cars passing at speed unless a specific ANPR camera is used and a secondary standard camera giving the same view. Even then result can be sketchy as it's difficult sometimes impossible to account for every contingency.

 

I think your BEST hope of getting good footage and evidence is to employ a professional. The problems are that the criminals have every chance to change and react to cameras but the cameras remain static where they were installed so placement has to be considered very carefully indeed. Some may require relocating as events unfold. Be patient and stay on the right side of the law.

You will eventually succeed but it may take a long while. Keep records and footage back-ups. When shown as a collection, individual incidents that may seem trivial at the time add up to a powerful tool for police in dealing with such offenders. You are painting as close a picture as you can of the events you and the neighborhood are suffering. (DRD) DIARY RECORD DOCUMENT

 

It's a powerful weapon against such anti-social offenders. CCTV is just one weapon in your arsenal.

Just one word of caution, you don't install CCTV to capture these individuals, you install it to deter them.