Security technology specialists Swann Communications have released a new surveillance digital video recorder (DVR), the DVR4-2600, designed to make it easier for business owners to install a monitoring system themselves.
The DVR allows business and home owners to monitor and record security cameras at their place of business or house as well as access footage via any 3G-enabled mobile device, including iPhone and Blackberry as well as phones running on Android, Windows 6, Windows 7 and Symbian mobile operating systems.
“Now there is a convenient and affordable way to keep an eye on the people and places you care about the most,” said Jeremy Stewart, Swann’s vice president of Global Marketing.
“Having compatibility to most popular mobile operating systems will only enhance its reach in the Australian market and bring convenient mobile surveillance to a much greater number of potential customers.”
Dr Roger Clarke, chair of the Australian Privacy Foundation (APF), warns business owners to check privacy laws before installing a surveillance system to monitor staff or customers. “The laws vary from state to state. The loosest ones say ‘you can do anything as long as you tell people’,” he said.
The foundation does not advocate surveillance of business premises while occupied, he added, but notes exceptional circumstances. He gave the example of an individual working late at night in a service station as someone likely to consent to surveillance for safety reasons.
Otherwise, “if you install a surveillance system, it sends the wrong message to staff. It says ‘I don’t trust you’,” he noted.
The APF’s policy on visual surveillance, including CCTV, states that the surveillance must be justified and “the benefits identified in the justification for using visual surveillance must outweigh the negative impacts on privacy”.
When footage is captured on a storage device such as a DVR, the business has a further obligation to control access to the material, said Clarke. “Encouraging employers to make the stream available is a ghastly concept. You must be able to control the stream and have a system to handle the recording.”
There should also be an external complaints mechanism available to employees should they feel the surveillance is unwarranted, he said.
Swann DVR4-2600 features:
- Real-time viewing
- Automatically activated recording via any broadband internet connection
- 500GB data storage (up to 30 days continuous recording)
- Motion detection activation
- Transfer to PC via flash drive
See www.swann.com.au for full specifications. RRP $699, available at Dick Smith Electronics.
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