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Security Camera Blind Spots Businesses Often Miss
Security camera blind spots businesses often miss — side doors, rear yards, stairwells, parking corners and the areas cameras never cover.
A blind spot is an area a camera system does not see. Every system has some, and the ones that matter are the ones nobody noticed. This article covers the blind spots that show up most often in commercial properties, so they can be found during design rather than after an incident.
Side and Rear Doors
The front door gets a camera. The side and rear doors often do not, because they are used less and are harder to see from the office. But a side door is an entrance like any other, and it is often the one that is used after hours. Every door should have a camera, and the camera should be checked for its view.
The same applies to service doors, delivery doors and emergency exits. Each one is a way into the building, and each one should be covered. A walkthrough of the property should list every door, not just the ones that are used during the day.
Rear Yards and Alleys
The front of a property is visible from the street, so it feels covered. The rear yard and the alley behind the building are not visible, and they are where problems happen. A camera that covers the front but not the rear leaves the largest part of the property unseen.
Rear areas need cameras placed for the space: the yard, the loading area, the fence line, and the approaches from the alley. Night lighting matters here more than anywhere, because rear areas are often the darkest part of the property.
Stairwells, Lifts and Corridors
Stairwells and lifts are the routes between floors, and they are often left out of the camera plan because they feel like inside space. But they are also the routes people take to reach the floors, and incidents in stairwells are common precisely because they are out of sight.
Corridors that connect buildings, and the areas around lifts, should be covered as well. The camera plan should follow the routes people actually take through the building, not just the rooms they end up in.
Parking Corners and Far Rows
Parking areas are covered at the entrance and in the middle, but the far corners and the far rows are often left out. Those are the areas where vehicles are damaged and items are taken from cars, because they are the areas nobody can see.
A parking lot should be broken into zones, with cameras placed for each zone. The far rows need cameras as much as the near ones, and the pedestrian routes between the rows and the building need coverage too.
The Areas That Changed
A property changes. A new dock is built, a new building goes up, a new entrance is opened, a storage area is added. The camera system often does not change with it, and the new area becomes a blind spot that nobody notices until it is needed.
The camera plan should be reviewed whenever the property changes, and at least once a year. Each review asks the same question: what has changed, and what new areas need coverage? A system that is reviewed regularly stays useful; a system that is not slowly stops covering the property it was built for.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a camera blind spot?
A blind spot is an area a camera system does not see. It can be a physical area with no camera, or an area a camera sees poorly — because of height, angle, lighting or an obstruction. Blind spots are found by walking the property and checking each camera's view.
What are the most common blind spots in a business?
Side and rear doors, rear yards and alleys, stairwells and lifts, the far corners and far rows of parking areas, and any area that was added to the property after the camera system was installed.
How do I find blind spots in my camera system?
Walk the property and check each camera's view, in daylight and at night. List every door, every yard, every corridor and every parking zone, and check that each one is covered. Any area with no camera, or with a camera that does not see it clearly, is a blind spot.
Can blind spots be fixed without replacing the system?
Often, yes. A blind spot can usually be fixed by adding a camera, repositioning an existing one, or improving the lighting in the area. An assessment of the current system shows which blind spots exist and what it would take to cover them.