A five-storey office block, a shopping centre, a hotel or a hospital doesn’t get protected the same way a house does. CCTV for large buildings needs a different kind of planning: dozens or hundreds of cameras, a control room where someone actually watches the feeds, enough recording days to investigate an incident reported weeks later, and clear rules on who can view what. Done properly, the system stops being “cameras that record” and becomes a real security management tool — something that matters for property managers, hotel groups and foreign companies running facilities in Cape Verde.
Most larger buildings in Praia and Mindelo grew their camera count the same way: a camera added here, another there, whenever a need came up. The usual result is coverage shaped by accumulation rather than design — strong images at the entrances, but blind spots in corridors, car parks or technical rooms. This article covers how RADAR approaches CCTV for larger buildings, what to check before expanding an existing system, and where data protection comes in.
Coverage: think in routes, not just entrances
The most common mistake in large buildings is covering entrances well and leaving the rest of the building under-covered. The result: the system can tell you who came in, but not where they went. A well-planned camera layout follows the real flow of people and assets through the building:
- Perimeter and exterior access — main entrances, service doors, car parks and loading areas.
- Internal circulation — corridors, lifts, stairwells and common areas, so an incident can be followed camera to camera.
- Critical zones — server rooms, electrical panels, archives, cash or valuables areas, ideally with dedicated cameras and linked access control.
- Overlap at key points — a single camera covering a sensitive zone is a single point of failure: if it breaks or gets blocked, that area has no record until it’s fixed.
A simple coverage map — a floor plan with every camera marked, what it covers and the known blind spots — is far more useful than adding cameras one at a time without a plan. This is the map RADAR uses to show where coverage is missing in an existing building, before talking numbers or pricing.
The control room: the system’s nerve centre
For buildings with dozens of cameras, a dedicated control room — even a small one — makes more sense than leaving the recorder in an unsupervised technical closet. Points worth considering:
- Visibility: monitors laid out so the operator (security staff, front desk or facility manager) can see the most important cameras without hunting through menus.
- Controlled remote access: building management should be able to check footage from a phone, but with different access levels — viewing live feed is not the same as being able to export or delete recordings.
- Power redundancy: recorders (NVR/DVR) and cameras have no backup battery — unlike intrusion alarm panels, which can run up to 24 hours on battery. Without a UPS or generator, a power cut simply stops the CCTV system from recording. This matters in Cape Verde, where power cuts still happen on Santiago and São Vicente.
- Integration: in a well-built control room, cameras, intrusion alarm and access control sit on the same platform, so an operator isn’t switching between three systems mid-incident.
How many days of recording do you need?
There’s no single answer — it depends on the risk level of each zone. In practice, we recommend different retention periods by zone rather than one period for the whole building:
- Lower-risk zones (internal corridors, common areas): a shorter period, enough to resolve day-to-day complaints.
- Entrances, car parks and cash areas: a longer period, since theft or incidents are often reported days later.
- Technical rooms and valuables areas: the longest retention in the building, given the impact of an incident there.
Recording days are directly tied to camera resolution, channel count and storage capacity — more high-resolution cameras mean either bigger disks or fewer recording days for the same budget. We cover the cost drivers of a CCTV system, including storage, in our CCTV cost guide for Cape Verde.
Privacy and data protection: what Cape Verde law requires
CCTV in buildings involves images of identifiable people, which makes it personal data processing under Cape Verde’s data protection framework, overseen by the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD). Two points any building manager should know:
- Retention period: under Law n.º 86/VIII/2015, which regulates the installation and use of video surveillance systems in Cape Verde, recordings made by private security companies or self-protection services, for the purpose of protecting people and property, must be destroyed within 30 days of capture, unless they’re part of an ongoing investigation. Keeping footage indefinitely is not just unnecessary — it can be non-compliant.
- Purpose limitation: per CNPD guidance, cameras may only serve the protection of people and property — they cannot be used to monitor staff performance or routinely point at administrative or production workstations.
In practice, this means visible signage at monitored entrances, access to footage restricted to authorised people (with a log of who viewed what), and a simple written policy covering what is recorded, for how long, and who can view it. RADAR helps clients meet these points and, where relevant, handles the registration with the CNPD — something we already do for residential clients and commercial buildings alike.
How RADAR can help
For larger buildings — including properties managed remotely by owners abroad, hotel groups or foreign companies operating in Cape Verde — we start with an on-site survey: what’s already there, where the blind spots are, and which zones are critical, before proposing any equipment. The result is a plan by zone (coverage, recording days, control room) rather than a loose list of cameras, with the option to integrate everything with access control and the alarm on one platform — we explain that process in our article on security system integration. We install and support systems on every inhabited island, with local stock and a local warranty.
Managing a building with 20, 30 or more cameras — or planning one from scratch? Book your free technical assessment and we’ll review the coverage map, control room setup and recording days you actually need, no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
How many cameras does a 5-storey office building need?
There’s no fixed formula — it depends on the number of access points, each floor’s layout and critical zones (server rooms, reception, parking). That’s why RADAR starts with an on-site survey before proposing a number, rather than selling generic “packages”.
Do I need CNPD authorisation to install cameras in my building?
The exact rules depend on the purpose and the type of space (private, publicly accessible, workplace). We always recommend confirming your specific case with the CNPD or a specialised lawyer; RADAR helps with the technical side of registration where it applies.
Do cameras keep recording during a power cut?
No, unless the recorder and cameras are on a UPS (or generator). Unlike intrusion alarm panels, which have a built-in backup battery, video recorders (NVR/DVR) and most cameras lose power in an outage. For critical buildings, we always recommend a UPS sized for the CCTV system.
Is a dedicated control room worth it for a small building?
Not always — for a building with few cameras, well-configured remote access from a phone can be enough. A dedicated control room starts to make sense once there’s on-site security staff, many cameras to monitor at once, or a need to log who views the footage.
Can I integrate an older building’s cameras with a new access control system?
In most cases, yes, as long as the cameras are IP-based or the recorder supports integration. We assess existing equipment before proposing replacements, so you’re not forced to swap out a system that’s still working.
How long can footage legally be kept in Cape Verde?
For recordings made by private security services for the purpose of protecting people and property, Law n.º 86/VIII/2015 sets a 30-day destruction deadline after capture, unless the footage is part of an ongoing investigation. Always confirm the exact rules for your specific case with the CNPD.
Need to review the CCTV system in your building? Contact RADAR and book a free technical assessment, no obligation.