When a security camera catches a criminal in the act, your footage is doing its job. Your security camera can be used to provide evidence and craft police reports, ensuring that culprits are caught if you become a victim of their misdeeds. While it’s true that security cameras do ward off and deter crime, there are some brazen criminals who ignore the presence of the camera, don’t notice it’s there, or think they can get away with their plans anyway.

You can use your security camera footage as evidence of a crime in both residential and business applications in San Francisco, CA. Today’s high tech security cameras are better than ever, and may even zoom in on the face of a trespasser for easy and clear identification.

Tips For Using Your Footage 

There are a few tips you should keep in mind if you plan to use your San Francisco, CA security camera footage as evidence of a crime or in a police report. These tips include:

Don’t post to social media

It might be tempting to post your footage to social media in order to gauge local friends and family on the identity of the criminal. Afterall, it gives you a melding of minds, and surely someone has to know who this individual may be. This can actually harm your case, and it’s best to share the footage with police and heed their advice first. In some instances, defense lawyers use images and videos posted to social media to “prove” their client has a naturally recognizable face, and that this is proof that the individual on the footage simply cannot be them. 

Use backup drives or SSD cards

Using a backup drive or SSD card makes sharing your footage with the proper San Francisco, CA authorities easier than ever. In this way, if you do not receive your footage back, it’s not much of a loss to you, and handing over relevant footage is incredibly simple. You won’t need to dig for the right portion of your footage, and police can get right to the point in watching it.

Keep watch for neighbors

If you spot something happening to a neighbor’s property, you can and should share this information and footage with them so they can share with the police if they choose. For instance, you see a figure making their way into a window in the middle of the night, and you share this footage with your neighbor. It turns out to be just their teenage child sneaking in and out, but it could’ve been a situation far more nefarious, and they’d be glad to have the footage to make a proper report.

A Valuable Facet Of Your Security 

Whether you experience a break-in, a vandalism event, or a person claiming to have been injured by a hazard on your property, your footage is an important part of keeping you protected. If you’re interested in learning more about using your footage in a police report, contact us today.