Do fake cameras work?

Poorly, and they carry a cost. Dummy cameras are recognizable to anyone who looks — no infrared glow at night, no cable, often a blinking red LED that real cameras do not have, and housings that weather badly. More importantly, they produce nothing if the deterrent fails, which is the entire point of a camera. Given how far entry-level real cameras have fallen in price, a working camera at the front door is a better use of the same money than a convincing-looking prop.

Do yard signs and stickers help on their own?

They help, and the UNC Charlotte research found that signage and other outward signs of security were among the things offenders looked for when sizing up a house. But the effect depends on the claim being plausible. A sign for a system that visibly does not exist is a weak signal, while a sign paired with a real camera and real exterior lighting reinforces a picture the offender can verify at a glance. Use signage as an amplifier, not as the system.

Where should a camera go to deter rather than just record?

Where it is seen during the approach, which usually means the front door, the driveway and the gate rather than tucked under an eave. There is a real tension here: cameras placed for deterrence are visible and therefore reachable, while cameras placed for evidence are high and discreet. The common resolution is both — an obvious camera at the entrance doing the deterring and a less obvious one covering it, so removing the visible unit is itself recorded.

Do cameras help recover stolen property?

Less often than people expect. Clearance rates for burglary are low, and footage that shows a hooded figure at 30 feet in infrared rarely identifies anyone. Footage is most useful when it captures a face close and lit, a vehicle plate, or a sequence that establishes a timeline. That is an argument for a doorbell camera at conversational distance over a wide-angle camera on a pole, and for treating recovery as a secondary benefit rather than the reason to buy.

What deters more than a camera?

Occupancy cues and light. Offenders overwhelmingly try to avoid encountering anyone, so the things that suggest someone is home — cars in the driveway, lights and a television on a varied schedule, a dog, neighbors visible outside — rank high. Physical hardening matters too: three-inch strike plate screws into the stud frame, a deadbolt on every exterior door, and trimmed shrubs that remove cover near windows. Cameras work best layered on top of those, not instead of them.

Do Security Cameras Deter Burglars? (Yes, for Most Offenders)

Written & researched by Derek Holt Home & Appliances Editor

Updated October 2026

Three-quarter view of a person mounting a small camera beside a front door, in bright midday sun

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Yes, for most offenders. In a University of North Carolina at Charlotte survey of 422 convicted burglars, around 60 percent said the presence of an alarm or visible security would cause them to choose a different target, and about half said they would abandon an attempt if they discovered one after starting. That research, conducted for the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation, is the most widely cited evidence on the question. Cameras deter by making a house look like more work than the one next door — the effect is displacement to an easier target, not elimination of the crime.

What does the research actually say?

The UNC Charlotte study by Blevins and Kuhns remains the reference point because it asked offenders directly rather than inferring from crime statistics. Several findings are consistently repeated in later work and in guidance from local police crime prevention units.

Roughly 60 percent said visible security would send them elsewhere. This is the headline figure and it is about target selection, not about being caught.
Around 12 percent said they would go ahead regardless. A determined minority is not deterred by anything short of physical barriers.
Most attacks are opportunistic. Offenders described choosing houses on visible cues rather than planning specific targets in advance, which is precisely the decision a camera can influence.
Occupancy is the dominant factor. Signs that someone is home outranked hardware in offender accounts. Avoiding contact matters more than avoiding a recording.
Doors and first-floor windows are the entry points. Which is where cameras and lighting should be aimed.

Guidance from the National Crime Prevention Council and from municipal crime prevention through environmental design programs points the same way: visibility, lighting and evidence of occupancy do the work.

Over-the-shoulder view of a person mounting a small camera beside a front door, in bright midday sun

Which setups deter and which do not?

Deterrence depends on being noticed during the approach, and on being credible once noticed.

Measure	Deterrent value	Evidence value
Visible doorbell camera	High	High — faces at close range
Motion-activated floodlight camera	High	Good — the light is the point
Discreet camera under an eave	Low	High
Dummy camera	Low	None
Alarm sign with no system	Low to moderate	None
Camera plus audible alarm	Highest	Good
Exterior lighting alone	Moderate to high	Indirect

The pairing of a camera with a siren is the strongest combination in the offender accounts, because it converts a recording into an immediate risk of being seen. Systems that combine both are compared in our DIY home security system picks.

Overhead view of a person mounting a small camera beside a front door, in soft early-morning light

What should you do with that?

Make the security legible from the street, cover the actual entry points, and do the cheap physical work first. In order: fit three-inch screws through the strike plate into the stud frame on every exterior door, trim shrubs away from ground-floor windows, put a visible camera at the front door and one covering the driveway, add motion lighting on the dark sides, and use a smart plug or two to vary interior lights when the house is empty — an ordinary use case covered in what you can do with a smart plug.

Then be realistic about what footage gives you. Identification requires a face close and lit, which is why the ranges in how far a camera sees at night matter, and why how many cameras you need is answered by counting entry points rather than square feet. The cameras owners rate most highly for visible deterrence and usable night footage are in our home security camera picks.

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Do Security Cameras Deter Burglars?

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What does the research actually say?

Which setups deter and which do not?

What should you do with that?

Frequently Asked