CCTV systems for home use

[redcrx]

following a recent spate of burglary, fire and vandalism on what was a lovely estate the residents of our terrace have been wondering how we can protect our homes.
The homes back onto a park and so the rear of the properties are only overlooked by two houses and are largely in complete darkness at night.
We are in the process of coming up with ideas to prevent any further crimes or at least help us feel safer. We are getting contact details for all residents so that any trouble can be reported to them, one poor lady came home from a day trip to find her house destroyed by fire and no-one could warn her.
CCTV has been mentioned and I was wondering if anyone has any info, advice or tips as to what we should look out for.

[Mih]

hire an assassin

[spaced]

keep a baseball bat and a Katana (Samurai Sword) by your bed like me.

In all seriousness CCTV is good for recording but it will not prevent crime from happening. How many people still fight in the street and rob shops where cameras are blatantly visible.

More police on the beat is what is required. Its a shame that your area has been ruined by these mindless people. I would just make sure everyone is vigilant and reports and strange activity immediately to the police.

[redcrx]

thanks spaced, we are being more vigilant and any noise makes us look out windows.
Last saturday we parked our car next to one that had been abandoned there a week before. This was at 2pm. All was ok with the car. 5 minutes later we heard a bang and when we looked some little bar steward had set it alight, the fire then caught our garage, luckily we got our car and motorbike out of the way before they caught too.
The police are looking at supplying a camera to cover the park and the garage area but we are considering our own.

[spaced]

why has this just started to happen? Has their been an influx of teenagers in your area? What area is it?
My previous house was the same, a lovely area until a group kids decided to ruin it, smashing bus stop, robbing people and cars.

Police were unhelpful.

[redcrx]

Well the initial rumours were that 2 well known characters had come back from prison and moved into the area. One has since been found dead of an overdose and one is reported to be back in prison so we can only see if things improve again.