Come along with me on a journey's journey in time, back to the year 1986. You
are a working mother. As busy as you are, you have a babysitter working for you
to watch over your five-year-old child at home. One day, you notice some odd
bruises on your child's arms and legs. You talk to the babysitter, who offers a
plausible explanation that you can't disprove, and yet you can't help but
imagine the worst.
Now let's go back to 2006. Imagine the same situation. You decide to drop by
an electronics shop or go to an online store and purchase a hidden surveillance
camera for between $200 and $400. You set it up in the room where the babysitter
will watch over your child. When you get home, you watch the camera footage to
see what happened. Then you will find if your child was simply hurt while
playing or was the target of the babysitter's abuse. A far better outcome than
simply being left to wonder.
Perhaps you're concerned about your elderly grandmother in her nursing home.
She's frail and vulnerable to neglect and abuse. You want to make sure she's
getting the right treatment from the nursing home staff. So you secretly place a
surveillance camera in her room at the home. Then you can see if she is getting
the proper care—or being neglected by a lax staff.
Such practices are still controversial. But it is impossible to deny that
they get results. In one New York case, 19 nursing home employees were arrested
after surveillance camera footage allegedly showed how the failed to provide
basic care to their residents.
Animals, too, can be protected using a security camera. Horse breeders, for
example, may decide to monitor their prize horses via cameras placed inside the
stables. Then even if they are far off in the comfort of their homes, they can
keep a close watch on their animals and even, say, detect the signs that a mare
is about to foal.
A surveillance camera system can help to maintain the security of your home.
With security cameras installed, you do not have to creep downstairs with a golf
club to investigate every strange noise. You just need to check your security
monitor to find out whether you're dealing with a cat or a cat burglar. Such a
system may be expensive to set up, but it may be worth the peace of mind it can
bring to a homeowner.
