Every time I see a story about security/surveillance cameras capturing the images of burglars either in a home setting or at a business I really wonder about the brainpower of the burglars. Don’t they know they’re going to get caught? Well, maybe not! That’s why they are burglars-they’re not all that sharp.
In a story we did for our blog not too long ago about “The Top Five Things Burglars Don’t Want You To Do” we mentioned that the “second thing on the list are cameras. Burglars don’t want you to have security cameras around your home. Law enforcement officials will tell you that if you have video footage of a burglar breaking into your house, they have a much better chance of catching him and a much better chance of getting any property that was stolen returned.”
In our story today, we will provide you with more evidence that security cameras are a powerful weapon against burglary. Police can’t be everywhere so homeowners especially must take things into their own hands when it comes to protecting their house. Security cameras provide an effective, relatively inexpensive way to do that.
In our first example from the Irving and Plano, Texas area, authorities are on the alert for the possible return to the area of a Colombian burglary ring. It is unclear whether the burglaries which were captured on home surveillance cameras, are related to a Colombian organized crime ring based out of Houston that targets people of Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern descent due to their propensity to have high quality heirloom jewelry.
The incidents in Plano and Irving recently have had similarities that lead police to believe that they are being committed by the same group of burglars. Homeowners in both incidents were of Indian descent.
One of the problems as noted by the police chief was that people don’t always report incidents to the police right away. That is a serious mistake. If police don’t know about it, they can’t do anything about it.
In another incident that was unrelated, video from the L&B Pit Stop showed two men break through the glass door and run behind the counter. Police say the C-Store Video showed that the men more than likely had been in the store before to see where the security cameras were. Police said that the owners of the store have a security system, they have video and there’s not much else they can do. Now it’s up to the police to do their part and bring justice to the owners and arrest these two people. The two apparently stole cash, cigarettes and lottery tickets totaling about $800.
In another story from Albuquerque a 73-year-old grandmother has been burglarized four times in the last year, but this time the thief was caught on camera. After the last break-in she installed surveillance cameras so she wouldn’t be a repeat victim. Hopefully this will be the last time. They stole some jewelry and her television.
In the Chicago area, criminals broke into a Lakeview hair salon as part of a string of business burglaries that has the business community on edge. An ATM machine as well as other items were stolen from the hair salon. Chicago police released a couple of community alerts about burglaries which all happened in the early morning hours between one and 4 AM.
The ABC affiliate in Houston, Texas did a story about a burglar who cut power to the house that he was about to burglarize button before he was caught on security camera. The homeowner’s security camera captured clear images of the suspect before he turned off the power and cut the wires to the security alarm.
According to Houston police authorities the two burglar got away with jewelry, watches, a gaming system and other expensive items worth thousands of dollars.
The homeowner said one of the items that was stolen holds significant sentimental value and cannot be replaced. Police are checking pawn shops in the area to see if they find it.
Law enforcement authorities tell us that if they have an image from a security/surveillance camera of the burglar that chances improve by over 50% of the bad guy getting caught and you getting any stolen property back.
Our four channel system uses four CMOS color cameras that can be used indoors or outdoors and may be the perfect way to protect a small business or your home from burglary. The security cameras have night vision infrared LEDs that can record up to 30 feet away in darkness. Audio can be record up to 30 feet away with a built-in microphone. The 7 inch LCD monitor has a built-in SD digital video recorder.
The four cameras is more than enough to cover any normal medium size house or business.
Tell us what secrets you have when it comes to your home security. Do you have security cameras around your home? How effective are they? Do you agree with us that it is almost imperative that homeowners have security cameras anymore? Join the conversation!