Video Surveillance (CCTV)
CSI Division 28, Electronic Safety and Security
Cameras and recording infrastructure installed to monitor and record activity around a building, ranging from a handful of cameras on a small commercial building to a comprehensive system with hundreds of cameras and dedicated video management software on a large campus, specified based on coverage needs, resolution requirements, and how long recorded footage has to be retained.
Why it matters
Camera placement and lens selection have to be planned around what the footage will actually need to prove, a wide-angle camera covering a whole parking lot might never capture a legible license plate or face, which only becomes a real problem after an incident, when the footage exists but turns out to be useless for identification.
On a real project
A retail building's security consultant specifies a dedicated, narrow-angle camera at each entrance capable of capturing a legible facial image, separate from wider-coverage cameras monitoring the general parking lot, since the two cameras serve genuinely different identification purposes.
Who this matters most to
An Electrician or specialty security integrator installs cameras and their cabling. A Facilities Manager manages the system's video retention and access after occupancy.
Where this goes wrong
A building's security system is installed with wide-angle cameras covering every area equally, without a dedicated close-in camera at the entrances. After a theft, the recorded footage shows the incident happening but the suspect's face is never resolvable at that camera's coverage width, leaving the business unable to identify who was responsible.