How Burglars Defeat CCTV Surveillance

Although CCTV cameras have served the public good in a fight against crime and terrorism, as they have in apprehending the London subway bombers, their use still raises anonymity and privacy concerns. The idea of "who is watching the watchers" is perhaps the most important debate as far as cameras, fighting global terrorism, and civil rights go. But civil rights is not the only contentious aspect of CCTV surveillance, as common burglars can deploy some simple methods to defeat alarm systems governed by CCTV.

Besides time and visibility, the next biggest threat to a burglar is anything that can lead to his identification. To hide their face from the lens of a CCTV, all the burglar would need is an infrared light that they can mount to the front or side of their head. The single beam of an IR laser will create a lens flare (a light ball) that will corrupt the data captured by the camera, potentially blocking the detail of their face from being recorded.

A so-called "head torch" is uses infrared light emitting diodes to defeat the CCTV, provided that the camera does not have an IR sensor. To secure this vulerabilty of surveillance cameras, it is highly recommended that one invests wisely in an Infrared camera sensor, as they are not vulnerable to laser pens.