CCTV and Security for Jewellery Shops: A Practical Guide

High value, high risk

A jewellery shop holds more value per square foot than almost any other business. The main risks are counter-side theft and item switching, distraction thefts by groups, armed robbery, after-hours burglary, and occasionally losses from inside. Security must therefore work on three levels: deter and record during business hours, detect and alert after hours, and protect the stock in the strong room or safe.

Camera plan

• Entrance: a camera at head height facing inward, set up to capture a clear face of everyone who enters — the single most useful image after an incident.
• Every counter: overhead or angled cameras that show the tray, the customer’s hands and the staff member’s hands. Higher resolution (6–8MP) or a narrower lens helps identify small items.
• Shop floor: wide coverage so the movement of every visitor can be followed.
• Cash counter and billing.
• Strong room or safe area, including the door.
• Outside: shop front, road and parking, plus the shutter.
• Staff entry and any back door.

After hours: alarms and alerts

Cameras alone do not stop a night-time break-in. Add an intrusion alarm with door contacts, motion sensors, shutter sensors and vibration sensors on the strong-room walls and safe. AI cameras with line-crossing and intrusion detection can send alerts to the owner’s phone and trigger sirens and lights. The system should be armed every night and its status visible on the owner’s phone.

Panic buttons and response

Hidden panic buttons under counters and in the manager’s cabin can trigger a silent alarm to the owner and security agency without alerting robbers. Agree in advance who responds and how, and test the buttons regularly.

Protect the recordings

• Keep the NVR in a locked cabinet or the strong room, not at the counter, so it cannot be taken.
• Add a second copy: a hidden secondary recorder, or cloud or off-site backup of key cameras.
• Use a UPS so recording continues in a power cut — a common precursor to burglary.
• Keep 30 days or more, and export footage of any suspicious visit immediately.

What insurers look for

Jewellers’ block policies typically list security measures such as watchmen, burglar alarms and CCTV among the insured’s obligations, and proposal forms ask for security details. Insurers may inspect the premises before issuing the policy. Read your policy schedule and warranties carefully: if a warranty requires an alarm or CCTV to be working, a fault you did not fix can put a claim at risk. An AMC with regular health checks helps you prove the system was maintained.

Local rules

Bengaluru police have run drives checking CCTV in jewellery shops and pawn brokers, and larger showrooms that draw 100 or more people at a time fall under the Karnataka Public Safety Act’s CCTV and 30-day storage requirements. SightShield installs IP camera systems only, from CP Plus, PRAMA, Honeywell and Hikvision, using models certified for sale in India, with a GST invoice and an annual maintenance contract.

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