We do a lot of CCTV surveys on buildings that already have CCTV installed. What we find is remarkably consistent — most systems have three or four fundamental problems that make them dramatically less useful than the organisation paid for.

Problem 1: Cameras in the Wrong Places

The most common problem is poor camera placement. Cameras pointed at the top of people's heads instead of their faces. Cameras covering a wide courtyard with a resolution so low that you cannot identify anyone in it. Cameras with important areas outside their field of view because the installer placed them where the cable was easiest to run rather than where the camera should be.

A camera that cannot show you a clear face, a number plate, or a distinguishing feature is not a security camera — it is a comfort camera. It makes people feel like they have CCTV without actually delivering the capability. Effective camera placement requires a proper site survey, understanding of the security objective for each area, and camera selection that matches the required field of view and resolution to the viewing distance.

Problem 2: Storage That Does Not Go Back Far Enough

Most security incidents are not discovered immediately. A theft may not be noticed for days. A dispute about what happened at an entrance last week requires footage from last week. Most Pakistani organisations we survey have CCTV systems set to overwrite footage after 7 days or less — which means that by the time anyone checks the footage, it is gone.

The minimum useful retention period for most commercial and government buildings is 30 days. 90 days is recommended for high-value environments. NVR storage is inexpensive — there is no good reason to operate a system that overwrites before events can be discovered and investigated.

Problem 3: No Remote Viewing That Anyone Actually Uses

Modern IP CCTV systems all support remote viewing via mobile app. But in our experience, fewer than 30% of organisations we survey have this properly set up and actively used by security management. This means that any incident outside office hours, or any incident where the security manager is off-site, cannot be monitored in real time.

Problem 4: Cameras That Cannot See at Night

Many cameras are specified for daytime operation only — or have infrared illuminators that are underpowered for the coverage area. The result is cameras that show clear colour images during the day and near-useless grainy footage at night — precisely when most security incidents occur.

What a Good CCTV System Actually Looks Like

The basics: cameras specified for their exact viewing distance and lighting condition, placed at the correct height and angle for facial identification, with sufficient storage for 30+ days retention, remote viewing configured and tested, and sufficient low-light or IR illumination for 24-hour coverage.

Modern additions that are now affordable and worth including: AI analytics for motion detection and loitering alerts, license plate recognition at vehicle entry points, and video management software for multi-camera viewing and event search.