Albany homeowners buying high-tech surveillance cameras

ALBANY — When it comes to residential security, there’s a new kid on the block. Unlike alarm systems that scare away intruders and notify police, this generation of camera systems can catch intruders in the act, then send his snapshot to your phone.

“We’re seeing more and more people purchase video systems for their homes,” said Jay Carpenter, a partner with Invision Technologies, an Albany IT services company. “Using a video camera system in conjunction with a security alarm system lets you record events as they occur and put the hounds on the trail (of the offender).

That’s what Lawson Swan did after capturing someone in the act of taking $50 from his pickup truck last week. Unfortunately, because the system was newly installed and Swan had not yet activated all available features, by the time he’d discovered the crime had been committed, the perpetrator was long gone.

“If Mr. Swan had known when it was happening that this guy was going in his truck, he could have called the police and the chances of him being caught would have gone way up,” Carpenter said. “But after a day or two, the odds of finding a slim guy wearing a hoodie, walking in the Lake Park area is pretty slim.”

Carpenter said that modern home surveillance cameras can be programmed to detect motion within specific areas, then send a snapshot of the occurrence to the homeowner’s smartphone — almost anywhere in the world.

“The problem there is that a cat or a car or a gust of wind blowing leaves through the yard can activate the motion sensor and it sends a snapshot of pretty much nothing,” Carpenter said. “Any time you increase security for yourself and for your family, it begins to infringe upon your lifestyle. There’s always a price to pay.”

Swan said he and his wife, Mandy, decided to go with a camera system after experiencing multiple thefts from their vehicles outside their home on Meadowlark Drive and their previous residence on Doublegate Drive.

“I’ve never been one to be overly concerned with crime issues and that’s probably a little naive,” Swan said. “It just never entered my head to get something like this. But in the past five years we’ve had our back door kicked in and a bunch of stuff stolen. They’ve come into our garage six or eight times and taken nine bikes, skateboards, guitars, and credit cards from our cars.”

Swan did say that during the home break-in, the alarm system had not been activated, and when items were stolen from their vehicles the doors had been unlocked.

“I’ve learned from my mistakes,” Swan said. “But some people just have to learn the hard way and I guess I’m one of those.”

Swan’s new security system incorporates three cameras. He paid around $1,200, he said.

Corey Lee, service manager with Central Monitoring in Albany, said he recommends homeowners interested in security undertake a three-step process: Ensure the premises are well-lighted with no overgrown shrubbery or places where intruders can hide; purchase and install a quality home alarm system; video surveillance with at least three cameras so intruders can be identified and apprehended by police.

“The quality of these (cameras) have really increased, even in the past three years,” Lee said. “The images are every bit as good as your high-definition televisions at home. At the same time, they’ve become easier to install and the prices have come down.”

In fact, Lee said prices on the new IP (Internet Protocol) systems are generally less expensive than comparable analogue system just five years ago.

“Unfortunately, we see too many people who wait until they’ve suffered a loss before making the investment,” Lee said. “We warn people all the time. … Don’t wait until it’s too late.”