Neighbour problem.

beveragelady

I think I need advice regarding a cheap flexible cctv system.
My very awkward neighbour has been trying to make life uncomfortable for me by causing difficulty over a right of access to a patch of land that I own. My solicitor tells me that all rights of access need to be registered and formalised by 2021, so she has been contacting the landowners concerned. Awkward Neighbour (hereafter AN) would have got a letter from her very recently, possibly today. I arrived home to find his cows in my field, having made their way through a damaged wall and barbed wire that has been cut. (Three strands, all cut.)
My field is over three acres, irregularly shaped. There are at least 200m of fencing and hedge that need to be monitored to prevent this happening again.
I would like him to be able to clearly see that a camera has been installed, as I'd rather he just back off than force me to deal with this head on.
I don't have much cash to spare, cost is a major factor.
I should point out that I am a lady living alone in the countryside and he is my closest neighbour. If this is the start of a campaign of aggression I want to put a stop to it now. (This chap has form, I'm not just being dramatic.)
I'm furious about this at the moment, when I've calmed down I'll come up with a rational plan. For now I just want to take some sort of medieval weapon up and go knocking on his door.
So: Cheap, visible cameras that don't require mains power. Ideas?

Bigus

http://www.ebay.ie/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1311.R7.TR10.TRC0.A0.H0.Xwireless+.TRS0&_nkw=wireless+cctv+system&_sacat=0

beveragelady

OP back again.
He cut the fence again on Friday while I was at work. Newly planted trees ruined, ground all cut up, general fury. I bought some of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HB362UG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 because they don't require any cables at all.
My question now is what are the absolute minimum requirements for signage?
Is it sufficient to put a small sign at the front of the house, even though the cameras will be monitoring an area that is attached to the house but a distance from it?
Do I have to make sure that the camera only records my own property? The data commission website seems to imply that the rules are pretty lax where private property is concerned.

Domestic use of CCTV systems.

The processing of personal data kept by an individual and concerned solely with the management of his/her personal, family or household affairs or kept by an individual for recreational purposes is exempt from the provisions of the Acts. This exemption would generally apply to the use of CCTVs in a domestic environment. However, the exemption may not apply if the occupant works from home. [ Where the exemption does apply, a person who objects to the use of a CCTV system - for example, a neighbour who objects to images of her/his property being recorded - may be able to take a civil legal action based on the Constitutional and Common Law right to privacy.] It should be noted that recording of a public space, even partially, or when recording is directed outwards from the private setting, it may not be regarded as a ‘personal or household’ activity for the purposes of the Data Protection Acts, and this may have immediate and particular interest to drone operators and data controllers.

JamBur

The major problem I see with that camera is that it needs to be covert to be effective. A big obvious camera poses a deterrent in itself. The camera you bought records to an internal memory card, so if AN spots the camera, he can just take it, and you're left with no evidence.

beveragelady

JamBur wrote: »

The major problem I see with that camera is that it needs to be covert to be effective. A big obvious camera poses a deterrent in itself. The camera you bought records to an internal memory card, so if AN spots the camera, he can just take it, and you're left with no evidence.

I have a sneaky plan to run a pointless cable from it off into the grass for a few meters. I'm hoping he'll think it's connected to the house. I was also going to bodge an antennae thing from a router on to it so he might think it's transmitting. I'm crazy like a fox.

Kristopherus

beveragelady wrote: »

I have a sneaky plan to run a pointless cable from it off into the grass for a few meters. I'm hoping he'll think it's connected to the house. I was also going to bodge an antennae thing from a router on to it so he might think it's transmitting. I'm crazy like a fox.

Any chance you would go to the Gardai about all this?

Speedwell

Place a dummy or cheap camera visibly in an obvious location, and your good camera in a hidden location. After disabling the highly visible camera, it's unlikely he'll look for other cameras focused on the same spot.

eladnova

Just a couple of points re. those cameras.

I'm not very familiar with them but they seem to run off batteries?
The main issue (technically) you'll have is battery life. Cameras with motion detection which cannot have their sensitivity altered will record most movements such as blowing leaves, passing animals and traffic etc. They'll quickly fill up your memory card and deplete your battery.

I know you say you've bought "some of these" at £106 per camera, but you might be better off looking at modern wireless network cameras which are an equivalent cost.

Factors to consider are:
1. How far is the area to be monitored from a wireless broadband signal?
2. Do you need night vision on camera
3. Do you need to mount camera outside your premises or do you have a window you can perch the camera on

etc

Stoner

Mote,

Lads this is all good advice, the technical side of things etc.

We just need to watch crossing over into legal advice, I'm not saying anyone has it's just a note. This is obviously a delicate situation and we need to be mindful of same.

beveragelady

eladnova wrote: »

Just a couple of points re. those cameras.

I'm not very familiar with them but they seem to run off batteries?
The main issue (technically) you'll have is battery life. Cameras with motion detection which cannot have their sensitivity altered will record most movements such as blowing leaves, passing animals and traffic etc. They'll quickly fill up your memory card and deplete your battery.

I know you say you've bought "some of these" at £106 per camera, but you might be better off looking at modern wireless network cameras which are an equivalent cost.

Factors to consider are:
1. How far is the area to be monitored from a wireless broadband signal?
2. Do you need night vision on camera
3. Do you need to mount camera outside your premises or do you have a window you can perch the camera on

etc

The battery life is an inconvenience I'll have to work around. As I said in the opening post, the field is over three acres. It's also quite hilly. A camera inside the house pointing out would be too far from the fence, and large parts of the field can't be seen from the house. I can't run mains electricity up to where the problem is, it's just not practical. There are battery packs but they drive the cost up considerably. There is also no hope of getting wireless network cameras to work up there.
The camera I have bought has night vision. Probably not great, but it'll have to do. Anyway the problem seems to happen while I'm away at work, which is in daylight.

Can anybody point me to a link or anything that lays out clearly the signage I'm required to have, or the rules about what the camera may and may not record.

Edit: Cameras haven't arrived in the post yet, I'm speculating about the night vision.

beveragelady

Kristopherus wrote: »

Any chance you would go to the Gardai about all this?

I plan to eventually do this. There's always the outside chance that he's not doing it deliberately, and I'd hate to get the guards involved unless I knew for certain.

Speedwell wrote: »

Place a dummy or cheap camera visibly in an obvious location, and your good camera in a hidden location. After disabling the highly visible camera, it's unlikely he'll look for other cameras focused on the same spot.

I've thought of that! You're crazy like a fox too!

MintyMagnum

You know the way you see signs in the country warning that 'these lands are poisoned' or something to that effect. Can you make it unwise for him to leave his cattle in on some grounds like that? I hear yew trees are poisonous. Maybe you should start planting some in your field?

eladnova

Hey OP
How did you get on with your surveillance? Hope things have calmed down as opposed to the cameras escalating things.

beveragelady

eladnova wrote: »

Hey OP
How did you get on with your surveillance? Hope things have calmed down as opposed to the cameras escalating things.

There have been no further problems, but this might be partly because schools are closed at the moment so my hours are much less regular. I hope the neighbour has just copped himself on. I don't know if they've spotted the cameras, they're not hidden and I make a point of visiting them in daylight to check for activity.
The cameras are quite satisfactory. I have had quite a lot of fun filming some of the wildlife that passes through every night. That alone has made me feel the cameras were worth the money. I should have got one years ago.

PMBC

Great to see you taking up the cudgel, so to speak, on your own behalf and best of luck with your situation. As advised by previous poster and certainly if it happens again you should notify the Gardaí so that, at least, the damage is on the record.