Seeing this camera hidden in a clock:
I cannot recall ever installing something like this for a commercial customer.
There were a few questions about burying cameras in smoke detectors or behind a closed cabinet door, but once the legality, employee morale hazard (ie: 'managers spying on us!'), and technical limitations were discussed, those ideas went away.
Do you / have you used hidden cameras? Have they been valuable?
We have a couple of large customers that use them. If they know someone is stealing and they want to catch them in the act they will have us build and deploy them. Normally when we deploy them we catch the person within hours of the install being completed.
Do you always 'build them', where I assume you fit a camera to be hidden in something, or do you buy commercially marketed units like the clock above or smoke detector or soda can unit?
Every location is different so we custom build them with HD covert cameras. We find products that are currently installed in the customer's buildings and then order one or use a broken one to install the cameras in. My favorite is occupancy sensors or WIFI APs.
I will say I am really not a fan of this type of work as it is very stressful (making sure we get the camera installed without getting caught) and they are normally last minute requests that we have to do after hours the same day.
There are only a few times I can remember seeing them / selling them:
1. Worked for overly paranoid, micromanaging employer. On my first day there I pointed out the overly obvious smoke detector cameras right next to actual smoke detectors. Everyone already knew.
2. We did a few police interview rooms where there was a "thermostat" camera in the spec.
3. We recently installed a bunch of the Axis covert kits with the peephole lenses. It was not so much a desire for covert surveillance as it was to not be obtrusive.
It seems as though nearly every other covert camera I have seen was a smoke detector camera. Not as prevalent now that we have larger, heat generating IP cameras and no real board cameras.
In our early days the FBI LOVED buying hidden cams from us. This was when clock-radios were popular. The hidden cam market is sleazy and we got out of it as soon as we could.
While working for a DVR manufacturer, I helped an integrator in Arizona design a system that included our mobile DVR, which recorded GPS coordinates and integrated with Google Earth, and a 3rd party pinhole camera in a dummy "box/package" to help catch a FedEx driver that they suspected of stealing a large amount of gift cards and checks from envelopes. The video showed the driver opening the envelope, removing the card or check, and then throwing it out the window. The GPS coordinates enabled them to retrieve the torn envelopes since they knew the location. They got a confession without going to court. Sadly, the driver was a 20 year employee.
As an integrator, I've sold clock radio cameras (both hard wired and wireless), PIR cameras, and smoke detector cameras to residences to help catch housekeepers stealing and, sadly, hospice workers abusing patients. Commercially, I've sold height strip cameras to Credit Unions.
Also as an integrator, I've sold several pinhole cameras that went inside of entry systems, like Door King. One helped a residential customer avert a lawsuit where a Thai Food delivery guy claimed the customer's dog bit him, but the video showed otherwise, and another pinhole camera in a Door King entry system at an HOA gated entry where a home invasion robber made several attempts to guess the entry code and eventually waited for a car to exit before coming through the gate and doing a home invasion robbery at 6pm on a summer evening when the victim had several windows open. The pinhole camera got a great view of his face as well as some custom decals on the side of his car. We also had a License Plate Capture camera at the gate which helped the police track him down. The images of both cameras proved it was him. And he was caught with several victims possessions in the car.
I have gotten very good results from hidden cameras, when I know what it is I want on camera. That is, I have a suspect of a crime, I know how it is done, and where. I see it simply as a tool in an investigation. A way of getting something that the suspect can not and will not deny. As an aid to management or more undefined loss prevention, I find it unethical.
We have done a handful for clients mostly covering a pos register to catch an employee stealing - bar/restaurant of hotel clients. I agree with Mike as it is always stressful and the install can be a major pain as the best shot competes with the best hiding mounting spot -- I try to talk clients out of them to be honest as we have probably caught more employees stealing with regular cameras as they forget they are being recorded a few weeks after they are installed.
Sperrywest use to be what I would goto for analog but we have used the Hikvision and Axis pinhole units in the last couple years effectively as the picture is actually better than you'd expect.
my .02
I've installed lots of covert cameras. In my experience, the three main customer profiles are:
1) HR or Security trying to get evidence before they fire or charge an employee
2) small business owners convinced their employees are trying to screw them
3) creeps
In the first instance, someone knows, or think they know, what's going on, but they need CYA proof. Internal theft cases are probably the biggest driver of covert video sales. Typically, you'll install a camera in a designated spot, the Security guy will leave some bait in plain view of the camera, the employee goes for it, and the video either gets turned over to the police or HR uses it as blackmail to get the employee to leave without making a scene.
The second kind of customer thinks he's the first kind of customer, but isn't. Whatever, as long as the check clears it's not your problem.
The third kind of customer is far trickier, and requires a lot of diplomacy to properly handle. The best analogy I can think of is gun sales, and there's lots of information on the internet on when, why, and how you can refuse to sell someone a gun. Basically, if someone feels "off", insisting on a credit or debit card and insisting on generating a bill of sale is usually enough to make the creepy weirdos just decide to buy the camera from Amazon and do it themselves.
Typically, you'll install a camera in a designated spot, the Security guy will leave some bait in plain view of the camera, the employee goes for it, and the video either gets turned over to the police or HR uses it as blackmail to get the employee to leave without making a scene.
Security leaves some "bait?"
HR uses it as "blackmail?"
Hoping this was a poor attempt at humor......professional security ops and HR teams do not operate in this manner.
Sorry, I really only have knowledge of the jobs I've directly been involved with. I really can't speak to what "professional security ops and HR teams" do.
I have installed covert cameras under these circumstances on multiple occasions. These are recurring customers who have expressed satisfaction with the performance of the covert cameras I've installed for them and have asked for more.
The typical setup is a camera in a stockroom or storage area. The security department will leave some product of the type they've noticed has gone missing before, marked in a hard-to-notice place, during the shift of the person they suspect have been stealing. I don't know what happens afterwards exactly but I've been shown video of theft after the fact on multiple occasions from multiple security managers at multiple companies. Some of the security managers have told me that they had the employee arrested, and some have told me they asked the employee to resign. I don't have personal knowledge of either outcome, I can only report what security managers have told me while asking me to move the camera to another store room or facility in order to catch someone again.
I'm perfectly happy to admit that I don't know if this is best practice or not, I can only answer the original question, which was what kind of customer uses covert cameras and why.
They are very popular in retail loss prevention. They are used where the day to day system can't see. In my dealings I've used chip board cameras and created my own device, back office installed either in the wall or in a ceiling tile, security office I would install in the CRT monitor speaker, in a cubical setting I have a pencil sharpener I put a 1.3MP camera in.
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