"New surveillance cameras being INSTALLED!!!" ( conspiracy )

submitted by RedditExodusParticipa

The apartment where I recently moved from sends newsletters out to all residents every month. A couple days before leaving, I noticed that the entire back side of the newsletter for the month of July was literally warning residents about new surveillance cameras being installed. I'd take a picture of it and post it, but I don't have a handy way of doing so right now. Here is what it says:

"New Surveillance Cameras being INSTALLED

SMILE You are being RECORDED!

[Apartment Name] will be installing NEW CAMERAS in the POOL AREA, LAUNDRY AREA, and ALL ENTRANCES of the Clubhouse!!!

We will be able to view EVERYTHING that is happening at these locations!"

Then a picture that says:

"WARNING - THIS PROPERTY IS UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE. YOU ARE BEING VIDEOTAPED."

Am I the normal amount of paranoid right now...? Because everything about the way this was presented made my skin crawl.

JNZ_HeyNow

You're the normal amount of paranoid; nobody likes being watched. It would be alarming if they aimed the cameras directly into homes and such, or even at people's doors to their homes. It sounds like they're not at that point.

A few thoughts, just WRT your level of paranoia:

  • Has the grounds/premises been subject to a pattern of vandalism and/or crimes? This could actually save you money if it prevents funds from being redirected to cleaning up after intoxicated folk and/or teenagers.

  • Does the management company have a security staff with a notable presence? Just because you're being recorded doesn't mean you're being watched. Hiring personnel to sit and monitor surveillance all day is expensive by itself, and most surveillance footage installed by businesses and property owners just ends up getting deleted after a predetermined time, except in the event of a crime or similar. Unless you're paying gold and diamonds for this place, chances are nobody's actually watching the cameras, or at least not on any regular interval.

  • That you're reading about it in the community published newsletter indicates that they are at least being honest about it. They wouldn't tell you if they didn't want you to know. I'm far more paranoid about the kinds of surveillance I never see or hear about.

I would keep it in mind but not worry about it too much. I fondly recall seeing video cameras looking at me in the early 90s while swimming at my dad's apartment; this is a pretty regular thing. Furthermore, having been a "pool boy" in the past, I can tell you that it will save somebody some money, and the savings propagate back to tenants - simple things like broken glass that call for the pool to be drained and refilled can easily rack up a bill in the thousands of dollars. There's also usually a steep penalty for poop and other things that aren't pleasant to fish out of the pool. Let alone drunks who ransack the clubhouse, etc.

Cameras keep people from being blatantly malevolent.

I'm not saying there's no cause for vigilance on your part, I don't trust landlords and I don't recommend you do either. Maybe keep the 420 indoors and such for a while, if that's your thing; if they're going to be nazis about stuff like that you'll probably hear about it soon enough. There's not a lot they can prove just with security footage - tobacco, weed, lettuce, etc. all looks the same on CCTV.

tl;dr - I wouldn't worry too much.