The riots in the major cities of the UK in August 2011 showed the power and effectiveness of CCTV cameras over locked doors and security alarms. In many stores, the gates were simply swept aside and the alarms were ignored as the gangs rifled shops without fear.

Organised gangs turned over shop after shop and, as the looting and violence spread, the fear of being detected seemed to melt away as masks, scarves and neckerchiefs were shed.

However the CCTV cameras ran all the time, catching everything as it transpired, and CCTV footage and pictures presented by both local councils and outlets has been used to uncover the offenders resulting in them being prosecuted by the courts. The Metropolitan Police Force have stated they had over 20,000 hours of CCTV pictures to go through and that video evidence is now "a big part" of investigations into such occurrences.

With such enthusiastic backing from shopkeepers and the criminal system, it is a good reminder to investigate your CCTV surveillance to see that it is running correctly and that the set-up is done to satisfy to your needs. It is essential, for example, that the recorded video is of sufficient quality for prosecution purposes.

The British Security Industry Association standards recommend that the picture quality of each camera and monitor should be regularly gone over. This includes checking camera functions for each station e.g. pan, tilt, zoom, focus, iris, auto-pan, wiper etc, the camera/monitor combination selection, the operation of recorder (s) and the operation of special hardware such as video multiplexers and date and time generators.

Regular checks should also include any interfaces with alarms e.g. movement alarms, fences etc, that all indicator lamps are functioning efficiently, that camera movement and field of view is free from obstacle and that all appropriate warning labels are in place. The cables and wiring should also be looked over as well as any towers or brackets that are being used combined with the cameras.

Even the best CCTV cameras will deliver unacceptable results if they are not set up correctly or if they are not regularly reviewed and serviced.

Make sure that your system is up to date and able to prove the power of CCTV.