5 ms·

Not all of us live in safe neighborhoods like yourself.

bradlys 7y ago
It's not even a matter of "safe". I live in a neighborhood that is seen as very safe. Yet, we had a burglary two houses down not too long ago. And they happen frequently enough to myself. I've had plenty stolen. Without a camera, there's ~0% chance of anyone being caught. I ended up buying a camera for peace of mind and for checking in on my place to see who's entering my residence area. Sometimes it's genuinely helpful.
- smoyer 7y ago
  Why do you think you live in a very safe neighborhood? I guess perception can be a funny thing but I'm thinking this is the same as Mercedes-Benz owners saying their cars are above average reliability when the service records disprove it.
- giggles_giggles 7y ago
  I'm just nervous about off-the-shelf "smart" cameras also sharing the feed with someone upstream who is not me
  - asdff 7y ago
    There used to be a subreddit full of unsecured webcam links. Sometimes you'd see babycams even, completely open to whoever crawled for the link.
- veritas_veritad 7y ago
  have you caught any thieves yet?
- dx87 7y ago
  If you're frequently having things stolen, you don't live in a "very safe" neighborhood. I've lived in working class neighborhoods most of my life, and the only thing I've ever had stolen from me was a bike that I left on my front porch when I was a kid. The only thing the people I know have had stolen is stuff like car stereos or GPS devices back before most people used their phones. Just small crime of opportunity stuff, no breaking into people's homes.
  - bradlys 7y ago
    I've lived in a variety of areas across the west coast. In all of them, rural to dense city environments... things were stolen. I've had multiple bikes stolen, my car, my backpacks, my eye glasses (yes - that is weird), and more... And they were all in a variety of areas. I still classify many of those areas as "safe" and so do many reports but theft still happens. Almost nowhere is "safe" from thieves. If you live in a "nice area" like any of the more expensive neighborhoods/cities in the bay area then you're very prone to burglary because go figure you likely have expensive stuff that's good for stealing. Unless you have really good defense mechanisms to detour/stop thieves (or just nothing worth stealing) then you're going to get stuff stolen. Property crime isn't the same as violent crime.
- stephenr 7y ago
  > Without a camera, there's ~0% chance of anyone being caught. If you're only interested in recording what happened (as evidence) an IP camera can run on PoE to a laptop or mini-pc on a UPS, and record for as long as you want, even in the case of a power outage if you include a UPS (an old laptop works well in this case - you can potentially just run the PoE switch/injector on the UPS and let the laptop run on its battery). No internet connection required. No "service" to stop working. No "API" to become deprecated.
  - cameronbrown 7y ago
    This misses the actual advantages that a managed service provides, like the fact you don't have to worry about the stuff you mentioned. Does your solution scale to multiple cameras? Will you get push notifications when movement is detected while you're on holiday? What if that very laptop is stolen? Would be ironic. I'm not saying your solution is bad, my house has the same thing (with 4 cameras around the house), but most people don't want to spend time managing yet more stuff, and debugging their camera system if something goes wrong.
  - bradlys 7y ago
    But then they can also steal the laptop or mini-pc that is recording. It's also a PITA to setup and manage yourself. I'd rather pay the $50/yr that I do and just have someone else do it. I'm done with the bradlys-as-a-service thing. It'd be another thing adding heat to my living environment as well. It's been useful for other things like checking in on. Where/when packages are delivered, when the landlord showed up, when a neighbor came over to tell us something but we didn't hear them knock on the door, finding out my smoke alarm was going off for no apparent reason, etc.
    - stephenr 7y ago
      If that’s your concern have it upload the video to a remote location you control.
    - rustyhodge 7y ago
      They can also cut the copper/fiber/coax coming into your house. If the NVR/whatever recording your video isn't in a super obvious place it will take a thief longer to find that then it would be for them to clip your connection to the net.
- rconti 7y ago
  With a camera, there's a ~0% chance of anyone getting caught.
  - protomyth 7y ago
    Depends where you are. I would agree in most cities, but in a lot of rural areas, Fred is going to get thrown in jail.
    - asdff 7y ago
      You think fred isn't going to just loot the next town over?
      - protomyth 7y ago
        I’m pretty sure once the person gets identified then it is not too long until the arrest. Small town sheriffs talk, a lot.
- nominated1 7y ago
  Seems like “victim preparation” to me. How about a deterrent? My neighborhood has had thefts too. I assume my two dogs barking have been enough to keep them at bay. It wouldn’t surprise me if statistically this holds true elsewhere. Low hanging fruit and all. Have you considered a motion sensor tied to a speaker that plays dogs barking/rustling?
  - bradlys 7y ago
    Dogs quiet up as soon as you feed them some tasty treats. We already have a couple fake cameras on the property as deterrents that were installed by the landlord. I just happened to install a real one because I wanted a little evidence collection since I've been a victim of theft more than once in the bay area.
    - nominated1 7y ago
      Option 1: Two dogs barking and a doormat that reads “You better have a warrant”. Thief thought bubble “this might hurt / don’t forget tasty treats” Option 2: A half dozen visible cameras Thief thought bubble “Good stuff inside / don’t forget hat and glasses”
- asdff 7y ago
  The idea that the police will take your webcam still and nail a suspect is pure yarn. Have you filed a police report when you were robbed? All the police will do is take your statement, maybe send a forensics crew to dust for prints in a day or two, and the buck stops there unless they happen upon your stuff in an unrelated incident. No manhunt is being started because your laptop was stolen. The best piece of mind isn't a webcam and paranoia of people you don't recognize in your neighborhood, its a list of your valuables and appropriate renters/homeowners insurance to replace whatever might have been stolen.
Severian 7y ago
Consumer locks only keep the honest out.

It's not even a matter of "safe". I live in a neighborhood that is seen as very safe. Yet, we had a burglary two houses down not too long ago. And they happen frequently enough to myself. I've had plenty stolen. Without a camera, there's ~0% chance of anyone being caught. I ended up buying a camera for peace of mind and for checking in on my place to see who's entering my residence area. Sometimes it's genuinely helpful.

smoyer 7y ago
Why do you think you live in a very safe neighborhood? I guess perception can be a funny thing but I'm thinking this is the same as Mercedes-Benz owners saying their cars are above average reliability when the service records disprove it.
giggles_giggles 7y ago
I'm just nervous about off-the-shelf "smart" cameras also sharing the feed with someone upstream who is not me
- asdff 7y ago
  There used to be a subreddit full of unsecured webcam links. Sometimes you'd see babycams even, completely open to whoever crawled for the link.
veritas_veritad 7y ago
have you caught any thieves yet?
dx87 7y ago
If you're frequently having things stolen, you don't live in a "very safe" neighborhood. I've lived in working class neighborhoods most of my life, and the only thing I've ever had stolen from me was a bike that I left on my front porch when I was a kid. The only thing the people I know have had stolen is stuff like car stereos or GPS devices back before most people used their phones. Just small crime of opportunity stuff, no breaking into people's homes.
- bradlys 7y ago
  I've lived in a variety of areas across the west coast. In all of them, rural to dense city environments... things were stolen. I've had multiple bikes stolen, my car, my backpacks, my eye glasses (yes - that is weird), and more... And they were all in a variety of areas. I still classify many of those areas as "safe" and so do many reports but theft still happens. Almost nowhere is "safe" from thieves. If you live in a "nice area" like any of the more expensive neighborhoods/cities in the bay area then you're very prone to burglary because go figure you likely have expensive stuff that's good for stealing. Unless you have really good defense mechanisms to detour/stop thieves (or just nothing worth stealing) then you're going to get stuff stolen. Property crime isn't the same as violent crime.
stephenr 7y ago
> Without a camera, there's ~0% chance of anyone being caught. If you're only interested in recording what happened (as evidence) an IP camera can run on PoE to a laptop or mini-pc on a UPS, and record for as long as you want, even in the case of a power outage if you include a UPS (an old laptop works well in this case - you can potentially just run the PoE switch/injector on the UPS and let the laptop run on its battery). No internet connection required. No "service" to stop working. No "API" to become deprecated.
- cameronbrown 7y ago
  This misses the actual advantages that a managed service provides, like the fact you don't have to worry about the stuff you mentioned. Does your solution scale to multiple cameras? Will you get push notifications when movement is detected while you're on holiday? What if that very laptop is stolen? Would be ironic. I'm not saying your solution is bad, my house has the same thing (with 4 cameras around the house), but most people don't want to spend time managing yet more stuff, and debugging their camera system if something goes wrong.
- bradlys 7y ago
  But then they can also steal the laptop or mini-pc that is recording. It's also a PITA to setup and manage yourself. I'd rather pay the $50/yr that I do and just have someone else do it. I'm done with the bradlys-as-a-service thing. It'd be another thing adding heat to my living environment as well. It's been useful for other things like checking in on. Where/when packages are delivered, when the landlord showed up, when a neighbor came over to tell us something but we didn't hear them knock on the door, finding out my smoke alarm was going off for no apparent reason, etc.
  - stephenr 7y ago
    If that’s your concern have it upload the video to a remote location you control.
  - rustyhodge 7y ago
    They can also cut the copper/fiber/coax coming into your house. If the NVR/whatever recording your video isn't in a super obvious place it will take a thief longer to find that then it would be for them to clip your connection to the net.
rconti 7y ago
With a camera, there's a ~0% chance of anyone getting caught.
- protomyth 7y ago
  Depends where you are. I would agree in most cities, but in a lot of rural areas, Fred is going to get thrown in jail.
  - asdff 7y ago
    You think fred isn't going to just loot the next town over?
    - protomyth 7y ago
      I’m pretty sure once the person gets identified then it is not too long until the arrest. Small town sheriffs talk, a lot.
nominated1 7y ago
Seems like “victim preparation” to me. How about a deterrent? My neighborhood has had thefts too. I assume my two dogs barking have been enough to keep them at bay. It wouldn’t surprise me if statistically this holds true elsewhere. Low hanging fruit and all. Have you considered a motion sensor tied to a speaker that plays dogs barking/rustling?
- bradlys 7y ago
  Dogs quiet up as soon as you feed them some tasty treats. We already have a couple fake cameras on the property as deterrents that were installed by the landlord. I just happened to install a real one because I wanted a little evidence collection since I've been a victim of theft more than once in the bay area.
  - nominated1 7y ago
    Option 1: Two dogs barking and a doormat that reads “You better have a warrant”. Thief thought bubble “this might hurt / don’t forget tasty treats” Option 2: A half dozen visible cameras Thief thought bubble “Good stuff inside / don’t forget hat and glasses”
asdff 7y ago
The idea that the police will take your webcam still and nail a suspect is pure yarn. Have you filed a police report when you were robbed? All the police will do is take your statement, maybe send a forensics crew to dust for prints in a day or two, and the buck stops there unless they happen upon your stuff in an unrelated incident. No manhunt is being started because your laptop was stolen. The best piece of mind isn't a webcam and paranoia of people you don't recognize in your neighborhood, its a list of your valuables and appropriate renters/homeowners insurance to replace whatever might have been stolen.

Severian 7y ago

Consumer locks only keep the honest out.