Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: to build fences or not to. Maybe electronic fences?

[Lion Kuntz (lionkuntz]

--- Eris Weaver <erisw [at] sonic.net> wrote:


> stolen. Now we have a security committee looking into what
> kind of options
> may make sense (lighting, etc.)
> 
> I wish we had just fenced the whole property in the first
> place. But not
> all my neighbors agree with me...some are advocating for
> security cameras,
> while others still don't lock their doors.
> ***************************
> Eris Weaver
> FrogSong, Cotati, CA


It has become very inexpensive to obtain webcams, and in bulk
they are probably very cheap. Hook them up to a webserver on
your own intranet and anybody/everbody can tune into each view
any time from their own computer.

I just took a look on Froogle for webcams and they range from
$20 on up, most under $70 range.

http://snipurl.com/obfh

If you put them in your homes you can use them as
picture-phones.

Password protected access on the internet, and you can watch
from work or wireless computing from the beach. Put them at your
front door and entrances and you can stream to disk photographic
records of who came by while you were out. If the disk is
redundant backup at a secure utility room, there is a security
copy on file that cannot be disabled by trespassers elsewhere in
the community. 

While there is room for abuse for closet voyeurs and disturbed
persons who faked their way into the community that I can
imagine in my more dismal moments, the potentials for good use
exceeds the problems because miscreants are captured eventually
on the webcams as soon as they act, be they inside or outside
persons.

The security net created would exceed the best commercially
available professional services. Many cams see in very low light
considered too dim to recognize a person by eyesight. Coupled
with motion sensors lights you would rapidly become known as a
place not to mess with.

My experiences living in Santa Rosa two miles from there is a
series of car break-ins, including two days before Christmas
where $1000 of tools were taken from a car trunk. That break-in
occurred 15 feet away from my bedroom window, and I never heard
a thing. A webcam recording to give to the police in the morning
might have resulted in prosecutions, and a warning to the crook
community which often has better communications among themselves
than the rest of society.

Modern cameras are so small they can be concealed easily, which
may matter as crooks know to wear masks and spray paint cameras
before going to work. Low-power, wireless,
solar-recharged-batteries can operate in unexpected locations,
and as mentioned, in low-light conditions.

Put in some nearly invisible speakers and tell the stalkers
casing the place that you see them, you have photographed them,
and the police are already called and on the way. Or don't tell
them, and let them still be there when the police arrive. You
can use it as deterrent in ambiguous cases, and as law
enforcement arrest and prosecution tool in less debatable
behaviors. If people are found in possession of "burgular tools"
while being in places they have no business being, that is a
prosecutable offense. Repeat offenders, on probation and/or on
parole, have a big problem about getting caught, and they do
most of the crimes. One small gang of car breakers can hit 100
cars in a night, spread across town. In California, the third
strike can mean life in prison without parole.

If it smacks too much of big brother watching, aim all the
cameras at the perimeters. Nothing stops individuals from
installing their own personal household monitoring and security
systems, detached from any community eyes, and not accessible
outside a select circle.

... Lion K.
Sonoma County, CA, USA



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