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Homes on the waterfront are beautiful, but they can also be vulnerable. They are at risk for burglaries, vandalism, and trespassing incidents. So how do you protect your dock? You have to take precautions against theft of personal belongings or damage to boats docked in your slip.

The most common form of protection is video surveillance. Video surveillance is just as important to the safety of your dock's boats as it is to the safety of any person on your property.

Benefits of Video Surveillance

While installing a video surveillance system is costly, the benefits far outweigh the costs. Here are some pros of investing in video surveillance for your dock.

Helps Reveal Suspicious Activities

Not only do video surveillance systems provide homes on the water with protection from outside threats, but they also protect your investment inside your home. When you install video surveillance at your dock's slip, you will have video evidence of suspicious activity outside your house before someone manages to get inside and steal something valuable or before you return home.

Acts as a Deterrent to Crime

Having a reliable video security system in place is the first line of defense against crime. The video surveillance system can act as a deterrent for would-be criminals. Most criminals are very careful and choose a location that they believe poses little to no risk of video surveillance. Knowing that all their moves are being captured in video will discourage even the most determined criminals from trying their luck.

Can Identify Criminals During Investigations

Even if you don't catch the perpetrator red-handed trying to break into your house, having video surveillance in place can help you tremendously in case something does happen. Video footage of the incident will likely be able to prove who caused it and what was taken from your property. This video evidence could also help establish a motive for the crime committed against you or lead law enforcement officers directly to the culprits behind a series of crimes.

You Will Have Video Evidence of Any Incident

A video record also provides evidence for any claims you may have against another party if, for example, someone damages your property while docking or undocking from your slip. The video footage can serve as proof that the other party was responsible for the damage. Without evidence, you might not get the deserved compensation for any damages. In this way, video surveillance protects both you and your investment inside and outside your home on the water.

Gives Peace of Mind When You're Away

When you have to leave your property for a while, video surveillance can help provide you with peace of mind. You can get real-time footage of all events taking place at your dock or marina. The video footage will indicate the date and time the video was recorded. It is easy to check on a continuous video feed, so you can monitor all of your property while you're away. You can quickly notify the authorities or call your neighbors to be on the lookout when you notice something odd.

What to Look for When Shopping for a Video Surveillance System

With so many brands and types of video surveillance systems available, it can be challenging to choose the right one. You will want a system that will meet your needs and provide you with peace of mind while you're away from your business. As you start looking for video surveillance, here are some key elements to look out for:

High Resolution

It makes no sense to record low-quality or blurry video. You want a crisp and clear video, which will help ensure that your video evidence can be read by those who need it.

Automatic Night Vision

You'll want video surveillance systems with night vision capabilities that switch on automatically as it gets dark so you can monitor what's happening outside during nighttime hours.

Weather-Resistant Housing

Surveillance equipment made for the outdoors needs to be housed in weather-resistant housing for protection against rain, wind, and other threats.

Storage Capacity

You'll also want video surveillance with high-capacity storage, so you don't have to empty the video data all the time or risk losing out on important footage.

Length of Battery Life

Your video surveillance system will run on battery power at times. That's why the batteries must last for a long time before they need to be replaced or recharged (if rechargeable).

Seamless Access on Your Phone

You'll want video surveillance that's easy to access on the go through your phone. Look for video surveillance with intuitive, user-friendly mobile apps that can be downloaded easily.

Positioning Your Video Cameras

Once you've purchased a video surveillance system, it's time to set up the video cameras. The first step to installing your video security system is to choose where the video cameras should go. This can be determined by different factors such as ease of installation, portability, weatherproofing, etc.

Position Height

You need to place your video surveillance at a reasonable height. You don't want to install the video camera too high or too low; it has to be appropriately positioned so you can get a proper shot of your dock and area.

Keeping the Camera Steady

You will need to make sure that your video cameras can stay in place even during big waves or gusts of wind. The video camera's mount should be sturdy enough to take on these elements and not obstruct its shot by being too bulky and visible.

Keeping the Camera View on the Dock

You need to make sure that your video surveillance has a clear line of sight from one end of your dock to the other or from your marina gates to the ends of your marina. This way, you can get an accurate video recording of the activity.

Ask for Expert Guidance

However, video surveillance alone isn't sufficient. Dock security starts with the quality of the dock itself. Is there adequate lighting? VW Docks designs and creates solid and secure docks for you and will build your dock with your overall well-being in mind.

Having installed multiple docks for waterfront properties and worked alongside security companies, we can recommend the best technicians you get value for money. Contact our experts to learn more.

Video surveillance is an integral part of your overall dock security, but it's just one piece of the puzzle. Look for a comprehensive video, lighting, and security package to ensure that your dock is safe from crime on all fronts.