Is having CCTV (security cameras) or panic rooms in your house a common place thing in America and are there any other reasons apart from security why you have them?

32 comments

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2. Lots of people have wireless, cloud connected security cameras outside their houses. Video doorbells are especially common. I’ve never known anyone to have a panic room.

3. I’ve known one person whose family had indoor security cameras. His parents were definitely a little… Over the top

4. CCTV has become more common as cameras have gotten cheaper, and you can stream the video to your phone.

   Panic rooms, not that I’m aware of except for maybe rich people. While home invasions do happen, they aren’t very common. A panic room wouldn’t make much sense and if space is already at a premium not something you would want to install.

5. Security cameras like “Ring” and the type are super common where I am but no panic room lol I wish I had money for a big ass panic room like off the movie with Jodie Foster! Just looks like it would be fun as hell. I would have no need for it though, not nearly rich enough for people to actually care that much. Same thing with a bunker. Sounds fun as hell but too expensive.

6. I’ve never heard of anyone having a panic room outside of TV. I’m sure it happens, but it isn’t something most people think of in my experience.

   Outdoor security cameras are fairly common. Especially with how easy they are to install now. Indoor security cameras are much rarer in my experience. Though I guess if you consider video baby monitors security cameras, they’re more common. Though even then, in my experience, sound monitors are much more common.

7. Cameras outside the house… fairly common. Inside? Not nearly as common. Panic rooms? Non-existent for the average person.

8. I’ve never even heard of a real panic room. Cameras are pretty normal.

9. I have cameras inside just so I can watch/talk to my dog while I’m out. Live in a secure building so no need for door cam or anything like that. Never heard of anyone having a panic room, I don’t think that’s actually a thing.

10. I have them, it’s super convenient with kids and dogs. I can check to see if anyone’s in the living room without having to yell or walk across the house, I can see if the dogs are getting into trouble when I’m not home, if I need to contact the kids and they don’t answer the phone I can jump on the camera and just say “hey, answer your phone, nerd.” Just a simple (relatively) cheap convenience.

11. Panic rooms would be for ultra wealthy. They are very rare.

    Tornado shelters are common in the Midwest though. Think of a tiny bunker for a few people.

    Camera’s are cheap and easy to install and very common these days. I have them.

12. In a house probably not that common to have CCTV but wouldn’t be unheard of. A lot of people have Ring or Nest doorbells these days which record stuff.

    I’ve never heard of a panic room before.

13. We’ve set up cameras inside our house twice. The first time was to figure out which cat was peeing in the library. The second is pointed at the 3D printer.

14. I don’t have a dedicated room so I usually panic in my bedroom.

    If I want to go out I can panic at the disco.

15. Literally the only time I’ve seen a panic room in real life or media is in the movie “Panic Room.” It’s definitely not common for regular folks.

16. Why would it be common?

17. We’ll probably install a few inside cameras pointed at the entry doors, just because we’re frequently away from home for weeks at a time.

18. We have basements that double as tornado shelters that count as “panic rooms”. Lots of parents have internal cameras called baby monitors to watch their children at night to make sure they’re not accidentally killing themselves.

19. Panic rooms aren’t common at all. Having a camera in or around your home is. Mainly to monitor it if there is a problem (pipe broke, break in, etc.), check on dogs or babysitter, to make sure packages got delivered or to look in on your home when you’re out of town.

    You can get wifi cameras for $30 or less, even in the UK. No reason why cost should limit such a thing there.

20. Doorbell cameras have become relatively common in recent years but I don’t know that they really count as “security cameras.”

    I don’t believe that panic rooms were ever a real thing outside of the movies, at least not for ordinary people. If you live in a tornado-prone area you might have a storm shelter, which is basically just a windowless basement or cellar.

21. Only inside “security cameras” in any home I’ve been in personally were for pets or babies. I’ve never seen a panic room or a tornado shelter, and only one bomb shelter.

22. Nope. We don’t need them, because: Guns.

23. Security cameras outside the home are reasonably common. Panic rooms are uncommon, unless you would count tornado shelters as a panic room. Those are common in the parts of Tornado Alley where it makes less sense to just build a basement. Oklahoma for instance has a lot of clay in its soil which causes it to expand and contract a lot every time it gets wet and dries, which would be murder on basement walls, so many homes on Oklahoma have tornado shelters instead.

24. I work in the field of corporate security (and specifically physical security not IT stuff) and let me tell you: I have less than zero interest in any of this shit for my house.

25. I don’t know anyone with a panic room. A few with interior cameras, but those usually point at entryways. External cameras are getting pretty common since they are so cheap.

26. We have “panic room” type rooms everywhere in Oklahoma, but they’re for tornadoes, not crime. A sufficiently powerful tornado will nuke to the ground anything that isn’t a concrete or steel box, so if you’re building a new house often you’ll line a closet or something with heavily reinforced walls like that so as to have a tornado shelter but also still use the space normally too.

    Cameras, at least on your front door, are common anywhere suburban where your door is relatively hidden from the street.

27. Not common in my area.

28. I have cameras on the outside of my house. I have one inside, but it is not for security. It is to see my cat do funny stuff. I don’t know anyone who has a panic room.

29. The most common thing I think is Ring cameras, since they also function as a doorbell. Some people will install a couple cameras pointing at their front door or backyard, that’s not as common.
    Interior cameras aren’t super common but some people use them.

    Nobody has panic rooms except for insanely wealthy people, and even that is probably a minority of them.

    Alarm systems are relatively common, maybe a small percentage of Americans use them – usually middle class and up. Some packages will come with window sensors and motion detectors for when you’re
    not home.

30. Ring doorbell cameras are the most common security measures that people have here. Cameras inside are most often just like baby monitors or pet monitors. If someone had a lot of valuables, I could see cameras on that as well.

    I don’t personally know anyone with full-house CCTV setups. No panic rooms either.

31. Most people I know that have security cameras recording the outside of their house.

    But I wouldn’t consider it unusual to have interior cameras. Most of the time it’s to watch over their pets.

    Sometimes it’s when they suspect their contractors, cleaners, babysitters, or flatmate’s friends steal.

    Or in extreme cases, some people live in areas with a lot of burglary.

32. I know someone who has a panic room. They aren’t common, and even when people have them they’re not likely to disclose them. Concealment is an advantage.

    Cameras inside the house aren’t uncommon, but it’s not like they’re everywhere. An average house may have one or two for nanny cams, monitoring an entrance, etc.