If I install a surveillance system at my house... legally... does a sign have to be posted say at the end of the driveway or is that totally up to me or what? How does that work?

Also... say you wanted to use the video as evidence for a theft etc... does whether or not a sign is posted determine if the video is allowed as evidence or not? (This sound stupid to me even asking, but I'm almost thinking maybe you do knowing our goody legal system)

Thanks in advance!!

p.s. I'm just outside of Atlanta, GA if that matters.

I always like

"this house is protected by Smith & Wesson"

:-)

Yeah me too, but when our house got broken into recently, that worried me the most... the guns were inside and I wasn't lol.

that easy to fix some of string on the door knob..... and some duck tape...

it can vary state to state.

Generally, if the camera is visible, not recording audio, and is not invading the privacy of an individual (no private areas), then is usually considered legal without consent.

For example, video survelliance of a parking lot would be legal, but survelliance of a bedroom would not be legal.

general surveillance laws:
http://videosurveillancelaws.tumblr.com/

Here is a document on pubilc video surveillance from California law.

http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/97/05/crb97-005.html#publichousing

In general it allows video only surveillance of public areas.

The CCTV system cannot record Audio, that is generally illegal without a warrant.

I believe the same applies to home use. If you do capture audio, then it cannot be used in court. I don't know if audio recording considered illegal in your own home, but without warning the occupants, it might be.

Obviously you cannot record private areas, such as bathrooms, showers, locker rooms, or changing areas.

It can also be a legal problem for hidden cameras. so check your local laws. This means coming onsite for covert survelliance as well.

Some states specifically prohibit covert survelliance in a "private" place, like a motel room.

"nanny cams" are also a subject of legal debate. generally it is accepted for "video only" survelliance, but no audio unless you have written consent by the persons being recorded. Still a sticky legal issue is the camera is hidden without consent. Best to get written consent to being monitored up front when the employee is hired.

I appreciate the info...
I'm basically just wanting to make sure I don't need to do anything special to record my driveway and around the outside of my house....

With Audio, the law works based on parties to the conversation. Home ownership isn't a factor at all. In this case a party is defined as a person as someone actively taking part in the conversation.

At least one party must be aware of the recording for the federal guidelines, and most one party consent states. Two party consent states require everyone in the conversation to be aware of the recording.

Home ownership or paying the phone bill has zero bearing on this.

I'm just going to be recording video anyway... no audio.... so I should be ok without posting a sign or something correct?

Yes... Just cover your premise... and do not give the neighbors an opportunity to complain that you are watching their backyards...

There are some fine lines for this rule. If this is your personal private home and you are using the video strictly for video surveillance of an individual to catch in the act of breaking the law, then no. You don't have to have a sign posted.

If it is a public place such as a retail store, then yes you must have a sign posted. Audio is a whole different ball park. I would not have audio in the first place because that becomes to sticky, but if you must, I would place a sign up even at your personal home.

So to add to this - is video surveillance of my home to catch criminals or deter them? Personally I would rather deter them by putting up a "look up and smile at the camera stupid" sign. I have video of guys checking our car doors at 2:30 in the morning but the picture is too grainy to be of any use identifying them. They would never have seen a sign that they were under video surveillance (i.e. they jumped out of thier car and checked our cars and left quickly).

My plan is to put up signs stating the property is under video surveillance in case someone is "casing" my home to come back later (we get a lot of flyers on our door every week for lawn care, home cleaning etc) but hopefully catch anyone who doesnt see the sign.

Just curious if you guys are "catch em" or "deter em" sort of members :-). I am new here.

Cheers,

dave

I am confused. I need to have sign to monitor outside of my home? I can't record audio? I am getting harassed by some teens who come over to my home at midnight, kick my door and run away. I don't know if this is a real home invasion or just some punks doing it, till I jump out of my bed and turn the lights on and go to the door. So far, it has always been some punks. I have just installed Nuvico CB-HD2P-L at my front door. I had called 911 in the past and the cops tell me they are busy with accidents and robberies, etc. I want to record them and file a criminal complaint. I want to record audio of them kicking my door. Is recording the audio illegal? That makes no sense to me if it is illegal.

The recording of audio is always a very touchy area. The short answer is:

You won't make the evidence that much stronger, but you do run the risk of breaking the law yourself. It's not worth it, and no matter how much you've convinced yourself that you need the audio of the door being kicked, you're wrong.

Video is probably all you need... a picture is worth a thousand words.

Case in point: I caught some kids who were doing ring-and-runs in the neighborhood. Got a great picture of one of them on my front-door cam late one night. I recognized the ringer as a kid in my neighborhood... lives around the block from my home. My large dog went absolutely insane... hurling herself against the door... and they all took off.

They only did it once, so I didn't dime out the kid to his dad. If they'd kept it up, I would have burned a CD of the video, taken it to his father and asked him if he wanted to take care of it himself, or if he wanted ME to take care of it...

Get the video... that'll be enough.

Sawbones, you are nicer man than I am. May be because we have been harassed for over a year now and always very late in the night when we are in bed asleep. When I get the video, I am going straight to the police station and filing a criminal complaint and will pursue till they pay a price that will deter them from ever doing it to us or anyone else again.

anybody know how this applies to condos and the common area? basically i am going to put 2-4 cameras in the windows (on the inside facing opposite directions) due to an slight increase in theft in the area since the economy is in the crapper. i might duplicate a couple views in a certain direction w/ a higher zoom lense since a couple catalytic converters have been ripped off costing the owners $600-$700 and i can see out to the parking lot from my condo. anything i need to do? or who to contact regarding this situation?

i am not an expert, but as long as you are not recording audio, and not zooming in intentionally to someone's bedroom, then general surveillance to protect your property and belongings is within your rights.

ask yourself the basic question, "Am I violating someone's privacy of their own home ?" if the answer is no, then you are probably in the clear.