CCTV (closed-circuit television) commonly known as video surveillance is a system that allows you to keep an eye on what’s going on in and around your home or business. CCTV enables you to view live events on a limited (closed) number of monitors, but also record footage for later reference. Take a look below for 30 crazy and fascinating facts about CCTV.

1. In 1942 CCTV technology was used by German scientists to screen the launch of V2 rockets.

2. Later on, it was used by American scientists throughout the atomic bomb testing.

3. CCTV surveillance is very useful in case of a crime. The video footage can help the investigation and later on offer evidence for the prosecution in a court of law.

4. Together with audio, thermal and other types of sensors, CCTV can alert officials to incidents that are out of the ordinary, such as gun fire.

5. For companies, CCTV cameras can spot and monitor in-house criminal activities.

6. CCTV can be used in prisons to prevent drones from delivering drugs and other illegal imports to prisoners because the cameras are able to monitor areas that are not easily accessible, like rooftops.

7. Emergency services and rescue workers are able to evaluate and monitor events in real-time to transmit a “situation” via video to disaster management teams, using CCTV cameras.

8. CCTV cameras at traffic lights monitor vehicles for traffic statistics and speeding footage.

9. Smart software can identify 43 facial muscles that express people’s thoughts and feelings from images better than people.

10. CCTV cameras can also monitor patients, children, or the elderly, to identify possible medical crises, like strokes, epileptic, or asthma attacks.

11. CCTV used to study suicide found that 83% of people attempting to throw themselves in front of a train showed specific behaviours. CCTV footage can now be used to alert monitor watchers to possible suicides.

12. Surveillance networks are also used by researchers to prevent anti-social behaviours by recording crowd activities in public places.

13. Cameras have been used at schools for security, and to record bullying or playground incidents.

14. Gathered from video surveillance of customers, market intelligence is being used to analyse buying trends, how people shop, which aisles they pass through, how likely are they to reply to calls to action within different store layouts.

15. In a store, the heat maps can show the highs and lows of shopper traffic helping stores to identify peak buying times, preferred marketing types, and staffing necessities for peak shopping periods.

16. To transmit footage and conduct video surveillance, wired security cameras use cables, but the signal can weaken when the transmission range surpasses 300 meters.

17. The most common type of CCTV cameras installed today are the analogue ones. They have basic functionality and store video onsite.

18. IP cameras carry out the same functions as analogue cameras, but with far greater capabilities. IP cameras provide sharper, higher resolution images, and more flexible features like remote zoom and repositioning.

19. Some amount of cabling is necessary for all CCTV systems, even those with wireless cameras.

20. Siemens AG installed the first CCTV system in 1942.

21. The first commercial system was installed in the USA by Vericon in 1949. Back then, it wasn’t possible to record the CCTV images. This fuctionality wasn’t enabled until the 1980s.

22. The first city to use closed-circuit television for fighting crime was Olean in the state of New York. Implemented in September 1968 it was used to protect its main shopping street.

23. Since the 1980s there have been CCTV cameras on UK buses.

24. In early 1986, Greater Manchester Transport built-in closed-circuit television cameras to some of its Leyland Olympian buses.

25. In 1985, Bournemouth in Dorset was the first town in the UK to use outdoor closed-circuit TV cameras on a permanent basis.

26. In 1987 CCTV was used by local government in the UK in the Norfolk town of King’s Lynn, for the first time.

27. On a typical day in the UK, you may be seen by 70 CCTV cameras.

28. Most of the UK’s closed-circuit television systems are owned by private businesses and individuals.

29. The falling cost has contributed to the digital CCTV systems’ popularity among households.

30. CCTV has been used in Singapore to trace loan sharks as well as car parking offenders and litter droppers.