Good construction video surveillance answers two questions: can the cameras see what matters on your site, and will the footage hold up when you need it? Secure Defence designs, installs and runs camera systems for construction sites across Vancouver and Metro Vancouver. Then we go one step further than recording: trained, licensed operators watch the cameras live, 24/7.
Our company was founded in Vancouver 11 years ago. The Lower Mainland remains our largest market, and our Richmond command centre serves all of Western Canada. Need a camera plan? Book a free site assessment.
In April 2026, a construction manager in Ladner reported that someone cut the lock on a container and took about $15,000 in generators, chainsaws, torque wrenches and other tools. Delta police added a short line to the file: "No surveillance video due to an isolated area" (Delta Police via Delta Optimist, April 2026). That's the gap a proper camera system closes. Isolated corners, dark laydown yards and sea cans with no power nearby are exactly where thieves work, and exactly where most sites have no coverage.
Each site gets a mix chosen during the free site assessment.
| Camera | What it's for on a job site |
|---|---|
| Smart cameras with person and vehicle detection | Fence lines, gates and entrances |
| Long-view (telephoto) | Far corners, laydown yards and long hoarding runs |
| Wide-view (180 degree) | Open lots and staging areas |
| 360 degree PTZ | Following a person across the site and zooming in on faces and plates |
| Ultra-low-light and infrared | Unlit sites at night |
| Thermal | Spotting people in the dark and hot spots before a fire starts |
Everything is weather sealed for Vancouver rain and rated to -40 C.
On poles or the building, using site power. This is how most of our sites are set up. Cameras go on wooden or metal poles or the structure itself, and are live in 5 to 7 days. Every powered site gets a 24-hour backup power system so an outage doesn't create a blind spot.
On cameras you already have. If your site or your general contractor already installed cameras, they can usually connect to our command centre the same day.
On a solar camera tower. Only for remote spots with no power or internet. A tower is set up in 24 hours and runs on a 2-week battery that holds in winter. See off-grid solutions.
Recording-only surveillance tells you what happened. Our cameras record in HD and are watched live, so an operator can warn an intruder through a speaker, set off a siren and strobes, and call for Verified Police Response while the theft is still underway. We deliver a 1-minute verified response with zero false alarms, and clients see 98%+ overall crime reduction. More on live video monitoring.
When something does happen, you get an incident report with operator notes, times and HD video. PTZ cameras capture close-ups of faces and licence plates during the event, which is the detail police and insurers ask for. You can also view live and recorded video on your phone or computer. Camera footage helps with more than crime. Superintendents use it to check deliveries, settle disputes with subtrades and confirm when a crew left. Add time-lapse video and the same system gives you a record of the build from excavation to handover.
Construction cameras often look toward sidewalks, lanes and neighbours. BC's privacy regulator recommends that organizations limit each camera's viewing range as much as possible, tell people that video surveillance is in use, and store recordings securely (Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC, Guidelines for Overt Video Surveillance in the Private Sector). We aim cameras at your site, not the neighbour's windows, and can help you plan signage at the gate.
Secure Defence is award-winning and was named the Fastest Growing Security Company in Canada by The Globe and Mail and BIV in 2025 and 2026. Across Western Canada, 500+ customers count on us at more than 1,000 sites. Compared with on-site guards, clients save up to 70%, though we can still add guards as a secondary option. The system is insurance-approved and backed by our 30-Day Performance Guarantee.
"We have been using Secure Defence on our site for the past 12 months and we have found their services to be excellent. Their staff are great at communicating any issues they see on site and their diligence has prevented numerous breakins with their live cameras and remote guard system."
Related pages: Vancouver security hub, Vancouver construction site security, construction live video monitoring in Vancouver, construction site security monitoring in Vancouver and our construction industry page.
A mix of smart detection, long-view, wide-view, 360 degree PTZ, ultra-low-light, infrared and thermal cameras, chosen for your site during the free assessment.
In most cases, yes. Existing cameras usually connect to our command centre the same day.
Most sites use pole or building cameras on site power, with a 24-hour backup power system. For remote spots with no power or internet, a solar camera tower runs on a 2-week battery that holds in winter.
Yes. Cameras record in HD, PTZ cameras capture close-ups of faces and plates, and you get an incident report with operator notes and video after every event.
Yes. BC's privacy regulator recommends limiting each camera's view, posting notice that video surveillance is in use, and storing recordings securely. We aim cameras at your site and can help you plan signage.
Pole cameras are live in 5 to 7 days, existing cameras usually connect the same day, and a solar tower can be up in 24 hours.
We'll walk the site, map the blind spots and send a camera plan and quote within 24 to 48 hours.