# Video doorbells / monitoring - does it reduce home related crimes ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2020, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523 "2020-05-27T02:41:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/1 "2020-05-27T02:41:07Z")
So there is a plethora of products on the market today, which does home video surveillance. Like the ring doorbell or Arlo etc etc. Intuitively it makes sense that they would reduce crimes like home invasion, burglaries, etc. Is there published real data / crime statistics to prove that they do help reduce any home related crimes ? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/2 "2020-05-27T08:40:38Z")
Any kind of security device, real or fake, will deter the opportunistic thief. A determined professional will be expert enough to work around these devices. In principle, I like the idea of the Ring system. It connects to your phone (with a moderately expensive app) and you can easily check to see who is at the door - handy if you are in the back garden etc. In practice, I think a fake CCTV camera will have a greater deterrent effect. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/3 "2020-05-27T11:52:05Z")
The Ring system is [easily and cheaply hackable](https://www.newsweek.com/ring-amazon-cameras-cybersecurity-passwords-easy-hacking-internet-connected-1477442). > [@](#): > > In recent weeks, products sold by the Amazon-owned company have been the focus of several viral stories. In Florida, a system was tampered with to blare an alarm and spew racial slurs to a family in their living room. In Mississippi, a hacker taunted an 8-year-old child. > [@](#): > > If a hacker gains access, they would be able to watch the camera output in real time, while also take control of other features, such as floodlights, alarms and a two-way voice chat. So such things can easily\* enable\* crime rather than deter it. The previously mentioned fake CCTV camera probably provides as much deterrence while being unhackable, due to the lack of anything _to_ hack. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/4 "2020-05-27T12:38:24Z")
bob++ and Der Trihs - thank you for the answers. I am specifically looking for published case studies or data analysis that confirm or repudiate the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/5 "2020-05-27T14:12:46Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The Ring system is [easily and cheaply hackable](https://www.newsweek.com/ring-amazon-cameras-cybersecurity-passwords-easy-hacking-internet-connected-1477442). From the article: > [@Newsweek](#): > > Any Ring users who reuse credentials across multiple online services, don’t enable two-step authentication or set a unique password on their account are at greater risk of being hacked. > . > . > . > A Ring spokesperson said: "Recently, we were made aware of an incident where malicious actors obtained some Ring users’ account credentials (e.g., username and password) from a separate, external, non-Ring service and reused them to log into some Ring accounts. > > “Unfortunately, when people reuse the same username and password on multiple services, it’s possible for bad actors to gain access to many accounts. Upon learning of the incident we took appropriate actions to promptly block bad actors from known affected Ring accounts.” IOW, if you’re smart enough to use a unique password for your Ring account, and/or implement 2-factor authentication - the kinds of things recommended by cybersecurity experts - then this sort of hack is unlikely to be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/6 "2020-05-27T14:19:19Z")
There doesn’t seem to be a ton of hard data on the subject. While I didn’t find the complete paper online, [a study](http://researchgate.net/publication/268444817_Understanding_Decisions_to_Burglarize_from_the_Offender%27s_Perspective) from the University of North Carolina supposedly found that 50% of burglars would go elsewhere if they spotted security cameras. _“Within a broad set of potential target hardening deterrents, alarms and outdoor cameras and other surveillance equipment were considered by a majority of burglars. • About 60% of the burglars indicated that the presence of an alarm would cause them to seek an alternative target altogether. This was particularly true among the subset of burglars that were more likely to spend time deliberately and carefully planning a burglary…Male burglars reported being deterred from targeting a particular location by a lack of potential hiding locations, steel bars on windows or doors, proximity of the target to other houses or businesses, availability of escape routes, and distance to the nearest road (which is consistent with their interest in nighttime offending). o A larger proportion of females than males indicated that alarms, outdoor cameras, outdoor lighting, and indications of neighborhood watch programs were effective deterrents.”_ > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The Ring system is [easily and cheaply hackable](https://www.newsweek.com/ring-amazon-cameras-cybersecurity-passwords-easy-hacking-internet-connected-1477442)… > So such things can easily\* enable\* crime rather than deter it. Jerkish hacker privacy invasion is not the same thing as burglary. How many burglars bother hacking into security cameras in order to stage their crimes? Many are crimes of opportunity and/or people looking for a quick score so they can buy drugs - not exactly the class of people sophisticated enough to muck around with camera software. Nothing is going to make you burglar-proof. Having good outdoor lighting, an alarm system, cameras (real or fake), an alert dog and watchful neighbors are things that tilt the odds in your favor. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/7 "2020-05-27T14:22:25Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > IOW, if you’re smart enough to use a unique password for your Ring account, and/or implement 2-factor authentication - the kinds of things recommended by cybersecurity experts - then this sort of hack is unlikely to be a problem. But is your neighbor across the street whose Ring cam sees your front door that smart? ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/8 "2020-05-27T16:21:52Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The Ring system is [easily and cheaply hackable](https://www.newsweek.com/ring-amazon-cameras-cybersecurity-passwords-easy-hacking-internet-connected-1477442). > > So such things can easily\* enable\* crime rather than deter it. > > The previously mentioned fake CCTV camera probably provides as much deterrence while being unhackable, due to the lack of anything _to_ hack. From your cite: > [@](#): > > Any Ring users who reuse credentials across multiple online services, don’t enable two-step authentication or set a unique password on their account are at greater risk of being hacked. So, basic security practices should be used. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/9 "2020-05-27T16:36:44Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The Ring system is [easily and cheaply hackable](https://www.newsweek.com/ring-amazon-cameras-cybersecurity-passwords-easy-hacking-internet-connected-1477442). > > So such things can easily\* enable\* crime rather than deter it. > > The previously mentioned fake CCTV camera probably provides as much deterrence while being unhackable, due to the lack of anything _to_ hack. I would also bet that a very small percentage of your home invaders have the skillset to pull that off. Anyhow, I haven’t been able to find any data, but the police certainly seem to like them and encourage residents to get video security cameras at the community policing meetings I’ve been to. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/10 "2020-05-29T13:58:48Z")
Since insurance companies advertise that they will give discounts on home insurance if you have these measures in place, they must have actuarial tables that tell them, to the confidence they require, how much less risk they face, so they can give a discount. YMMV, because insurance companies spread their risk widely, so the discount they’re giving may simply function as advertising. I get that the O.P. may be looking for hard numerical evidence but this is a muddled bunch of statistics – how many home crimes are there, how many are perpetrated by a person of trust, how many ar from unlocked doors, and of these, how good is the information we have? Do people admit they have these shortcomings when robbed? What’s better or worse about Ring vs. the fake cam? How can we measure? Who can we ask, Amazon? Where do people with fake cams meet to wave their fake flag? And can we get a list of their addresses? A wile back, someone came to vent about annoying car alarms, and did they work, anyways? People here _ **did** _ have statistics to support that car alarms _ **do** _ work. We can wait for that data, or just assume its logical that the effect is analogous between car anti-theft devices and home defense devices. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/11 "2020-05-29T14:40:42Z")
If you were trying to figure out the value of such a device in your own case, I wouldn’t hold out hope for reliable statistics ever. It would depend too much on your specific situation. For example inductively I judge the risk of a burglary of my home is close to zero without a security system. I’ve never heard of one on the block or in the immediate neighborhood in nearly 30 yrs (this is right near NYC but not an easy place to get in and out of, very fast police response, always people around right on our block: local burglars seem to concentrate on condo’s on blocks where it’s almost all young people who aren’t around during the day; night or ‘hot’ burglaries are rare, I’ve never heard of a bona fide deliberate home invasion robbery by strangers, nothing to do with disagreements among drug dealing associates, around here). An even accurate general finding wouldn’t be that useful to me. OTOH if just looking for such stats in general, I don’t know of any. 🙂 But I think it’s more than intuition that it’s better to be one of the people with this than without, in places where burglary is fairly common. I don’t think hacking is a serious threat relatively if you take basic precautions. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/12 "2020-05-29T15:14:24Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > So, basic security practices should be used. Ya mean we shouldn’t let the default username and password be admin/admin? Wow. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-doorbells-monitoring-does-it-reduce-home-related-crimes/854523/13 "2020-05-29T16:04:48Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > What’s better or worse about Ring vs. the fake cam? They both should have deterrent value that prevents some home-related crimes. But in the event of an actual burglary, a real camera can provide video evidence that helps ID the perp, which may enable recovery of the stolen goods - thereby reducing the risk to which the homeowner and/or insurance company is exposed.