MIAMI – Surveillance video keeps getting better, and police continue to use it as a tool to fight crime.
But whether you purchase inexpensive cameras to monitor on a smartphone, or have a system professionally installed, experts insist where you put your surveillance cameras in your home makes a big difference.
Officer Julio Blanco with the Miami Beach Police Department said good camera position is imperative.
"You want to make sure your cameras are in the perfect positions to capture the perfect angles," Blanco said.
Blanco said wide-angle cameras that show entrances and exits are important to see how a suspected burglar got into your home, and where he or she might have escaped.
But homeowners also want to have at least one camera, inside the home and outside, near an entry point, closer to eye level.
"This camera is placed at a lower position on purpose," Blanco said, pointing to a well-positioned camera inside a building. "It's made to recognize facial features. You want to identify people walking through here - their faces.”
Luis Diaz, a technician with Advance Security Camera agrees that low-positioned cameras are important.
"The advantage of a camera like this: facial recognition," he said.
Diaz also said that it's worth paying a little more for a higher-definition camera. Also, if a crook sees the camera staring right at him, that's even better.
"If they see too many cameras or a sign that says attention camera, they do want to move on. Basically they don't want to be caught on camera," Diaz said.
Blanco said homeowners who have questions about how to install security cameras are encouraged to call their local police department.