Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
24th April 2024 Issue no. 702

Your industry news - first

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One in seven British homeowners have a security camera to spy on neighbours

New research has found that 40% of homeowners in Britain have some form of security camera on their property, primarily to deter potential thieves, use as evidence in case of a crime and monitor who is coming and going.

As well as owning a security camera for obvious reasons, such as protecting your home and having footage if anything were to happen, some have them for more obscure reasons, included spying on neighbours, keeping an eye on delivery people and making sure their pet is safe.

The study was undertaken by the team at windows furnishing company www.thomas-sanderson.co.uk, in which 2,209 Britons over the age of 18 were polled. All respondents either rented or owned their own home which they have lived in for at least two years.

It was found that two fifths (40%) of British homeowners now have some form of security camera installed on their property, with 44% of these saying they had an outdoor camera, and 31% saying they had a smart doorbell. The average cost of installing some form of home security camera was found to be £175.00.

When given a list of reasons for owning security cameras and asked to pick all that applied, the most popular answers were 'to deter would-be burglars' (91%), 'to use as evidence in case of a crime' (89%) and 'to monitor who is coming and going' (61%).

Some of the more interesting answers that emerged from the survey were 'to spy on neighbours', which 14% admitted as a reason for having security cameras, 'I don't trust my postman/delivery drivers' (12%), 'to make sure my pet is safe' (10%) and 'to find out who is stealing my milk', which one respondent answered with.

Nearly half of those with security cameras said that they 'regularly watch the footage', with 42% admitting to the practice, and even as many as 9% admitted to watching it every day. Conversely, a quarter (24%) said that they have never looked at the footage.

Those that said that they have viewed footage from their security camera were asked what they had seen. Some of the answers included 'a postman tripping over and dropping his bag of post', 'a cherry-knocker' and 'a cat trying to get through a letterbox'.

Over three quarters of those with home security cameras (76%) said that they felt safer with the equipment, but 30% also revealed that they thought it was more of a gimmick than something that primarily keeps them safe.

Commenting on the results of the study, Richard Petrie, Marketing Director for www.thomas-sanderson.co.uk said:

"Smart technology is moving forwards at quite a rate, so it's no real surprise that so many homeowners who have security cameras at home now have some form of smart security camera on their property. Whilst the predominant reason for most is safety, some clearly can't help themselves when it comes to using them to see what their neighbours are up to."

8th May 2019