Corporate covert surveillance

[RobertD]

I am responsible for security operations at a large health care company. I was with the company for 20 years, left for a new career in the CCTV/Access Control market, got laid off during the bad economy, and went back to the health care company.
In the time I was away the mobile covert cameras changed. The best one we had looked like an air purifier. It had a built in DVR and SD card slot for storage and easy viewing on any computer. Due to the growing company and the loss that is seen in certain areas we need an assortment of different covert cameras. Not necessarily those that are already built-in to something. Does anyone know of any good places to shop for a more professional type covert camera than the "nanny cams", etc. ?

[Curtis Baillie]

I've found the ones I built myself worked best.

[LARMGUY]

I've found the ones I built myself worked best.

Agreed. One question. Why covert?

The following is from this site. I am not promoting their products. I am using their qualifying questions to assist you in your selection.

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/covert-hidden-spy-cameras.html

How to pick a hidden camera

What is the main goal of this hidden camera?


Catch a thief in an office or store
Insure the children are taken care of by the Nanny
Find out if a spouse is cheating
Where will the camera be placed?


Would you be able to run a video wire from the camera to a recorder?
Can you get power to the camera? They all need power to run.
What type of object would fit in to the room and not arouse suspicion?
Will the camera be indoors or outdoors?
What's the lighting situation? black & white cameras are better for low light.
Do you want to record video to view at a later time?


How long will you need to record?
How much activity is there in the room? A home has lower traffic than a store.
Do you need scheduled recording? motion activated? or both?
Do you want a wireless camera?


Do you have a cordless phone or wireless internet that might interfere with a wireless signal?
Do you want to view the camera feed live from another room?
Are you sure you can not run a wire to view or use a built in recorder to avoid problems with wireless transmission.
What are my options?


Wired - a camera connected by a video cable to a recording device
Wireless- a camera with a built in transmitter that will send the video wirelessly to a near by (hidden) receiver connected by a short wire to a video recorder or TV for live monitoring
StealthCam - A Camera with a built in DVR that records video direct to a Secure Digital Memory card.
Why can't I record hidden Audio?
Because it is against federal law and you may go to jail if you covertly record audio.

[bbertola]

Agreed. One question. Why covert?

I'd also be curious to know. Are you looking to document or deter theft, and do you think they will just steal from somewhere else if they see the camera?

[SecTrainer]

In healthcare, this is a much more ticklish issue than in many other "corporate" venues.

I would suggest that you start with the IAHSS guidelines appropriate to this topic, such as #04.01 and #08.02. From there, you can seek more expert advice from other IAHSS members, either directly (if you're an IAHSS member) or on the LinkedIn group (sign up and request IAHSS group membership). No matter what specific problems you're dealing with, you can bet that someone in that organization has dealt with it before.

That being said, from a purely technological standpoint there are a million ways to skin the cat - everything from "video boards" that you build in, up to self-contained units that even include video storage capability.

The first thing I think you should consider is whether you need camera mobility, which affects other questions such as whether you should use wired or wireless cameras, digital IP versus analog, etc.

Permanent or "installed" cameras are typically used to monitor a specific identified physical area as the target over a relatively long period of time - such as the hospital pharmacy. "Mobile" (movable) cameras are typically used when the target is an individual or group of individuals - e.g., an internal theft or drug diversion investigation - where the specific area of coverage is not predeterminable or might change over the course of the investigation.

The secondary questions are:
1. How will you monitor or view the video?
2. How will you store the video?
3. Can you tie these cameras into the facility's existing system - or should you not?

If you more or less get a handle on these questions, might I also suggest that you send a PM to CameraMan, our resident guru in this area.

One thing to remember - always - is that recording audio is almost always illegal.

[RobertD]

For clarification purposes let me say we have a 42 camera CCTV system with 30 days of recorded video. The reason for "covert" camera is only in situations where there is routine loss or theft in a certain area. In these situations we follow the proper legal guidelines when setting up a covert camera. Due to diverse locations and environments I was looking for a camera or camera kit that was easy to set up, had built-in storage that can be viewed via computer (SD card, etc.), and the cost would be easy on my boss' eyes.
I was mainly looking for places to shop and/or ways to build my own with what we buy.
Thanks for your help so far.

[LARMGUY]

For clarification purposes let me say we have a 42 camera CCTV system with 30 days of recorded video. The reason for "covert" camera is only in situations where there is routine loss or theft in a certain area. In these situations we follow the proper legal guidelines when setting up a covert camera. Due to diverse locations and environments I was looking for a camera or camera kit that was easy to set up, had built-in storage that can be viewed via computer (SD card, etc.), and the cost would be easy on my boss' eyes.
I was mainly looking for places to shop and/or ways to build my own with what we buy.
Thanks for your help so far.

The biggest question then is are you going to prosecute or persecute person or persons thieving? Is it a large area? Do you require forensic video or just general event video?

Is there a wall available for mounting a device or does it have to be a shelf unit? Is ceiling mount a possibility?

http://scallopimaging.com/landing.php

This is a 7 megapixel camera. Five, 1.3 megapixel cameras stitched together digitally and capable of digital zoom.
Run a cat 5 cable to it from a switch into a computer with a free downloaded software for recording on any computer. Downloading the same software on any other computer on the same network allows you remote viewing. No retreiving storage cards. You will have to purchase a one time license.

Just throwing out possibilities. ;)

[RobertD]

The biggest question then is are you going to prosecute or persecute person or persons thieving? Is it a large area? Do you require forensic video or just general event video?

Is there a wall available for mounting a device or does it have to be a shelf unit? Is ceiling mount a possibility?

http://scallopimaging.com/landing.php

This is a 7 megapixel camera. Five, 1.3 megapixel cameras stitched together digitally and capable of digital zoom.
Run a cat 5 cable to it from a switch into a computer with a free downloaded software for recording on any computer. Downloading the same software on any other computer on the same network allows you remote viewing. No retreiving storage cards. You will have to purchase a one time license.

Just throwing out possibilities. ;)

Very Cool camera!
The price is just a little too high for us right now. We just got a large Access Control and additional fixed cameras job approved.
As for the other questions. In the past we have never used any video to prosecute an employee. Termination is usually the case if the offense is bad enough (we would not go to the trouble of getting covert video otherwise).