I got complacent . . . . .

[made in china]

We had a bike stolen, car broke into and my dirty hiking boots stolen off our front porch. Put cameras up and now nothing but the bubblegum cat, deer and neighbors leaving for work show up on it. But, we live in a very small isolated town with very little police coverage. On the off chance someone doesn't notice or chooses to ignore the cameras and rips us off again, the odds are that we will be able to track them down. That makes sifting through the dancing spiders worth it.

With all due respect, I know this may sound like I'm picking on people who invest in CCTV....but...

So you see some people in hoodies, or even you see their face a bit...then what? How do you track them down?
I guess it depends where you live, but many places (police) won't do squat with your video.

Unless it's someone you know, there's not much you can do.

I always tell my friends who get these camera systems to make sure there's 1 or 2 with extremely good views of the street and that those cams are of high enough quality to get the license plate number of the car they show up in. What I've seen is most of these people wear hoodies or a face mask, and lots of those video clips of porch bandits the cam is focused on the porch, and barely catches a glimpse of the getaway car.
With a cam install that can catch a vehicle, you are probably way more likely to get quicker police response.

 

[Alexx1401]

With all due respect, I know this may sound like I'm picking on people who invest in CCTV....but...

So you see some people in hoodies, or even you see their face a bit...then what? How do you track them down?
I guess it depends where you live, but many places (police) won't do squat with your video.

Unless it's someone you know, there's not much you can do.

I always tell my friends who get these camera systems to make sure there's 1 or 2 with extremely good views of the street and that those cams are of high enough quality to get the license plate number of the car they show up in. What I've seen is most of these people wear hoodies or a face mask, and lots of those video clips of porch bandits the cam is focused on the porch, and barely catches a glimpse of the getaway car.
With a cam install that can catch a vehicle, you are probably way more likely to get quicker police response.

I of course can't speak for all but I do not expect mine to be something to prosecute the scum. I use them to let me know the scum are there. Since I can see the entire exterior of the place from my phone I don't have to get up if the dogs say "hey something is out there!". When I am sleeping I can just look and see what it is. Since I buy the vast majority of my stuff delivered I know when it hits the porch. Since I am home I can then go get it before the scum. Also has come in real handy with FedEx since their service want to crap. Many times now they notify me my stuff was delivered. I would call saying my camera shows you were never here. When I work all night and Wife is home alone we both love them. I can look in at any time to see what's going on outside, she can look if dogs tell her something is there. I have never done it but I could even talk to people at either front or back door if I wished. Wife did one time when this place was being worked on and we were not moved in yet. One of the contractors was at the door. Wife called him, said I see you, will call your phone to set up time. So of course not everyone is in the same situation I am so these will not work for all like this. I would not be without them now.
Years ago neighbor got a LARGE planter stolen. She did come over to ask. I found the scum, showed her the tape. She made a copy not expecting the Police to do anything but to share with other neighbors. To watch for the vehicle and scum person.

 

[GWS]

My bet is it's a neighborhood kid.
You don't notice them because you see them all the time.. The other option is a homeless bum has set up somewhere near your neighborhood. They can be very clever at camouflaging their nest. We had one camped in the shrubbery against the fence of our neighborhood school for quite a while, judging from the trash he left after he was rousted out.

 

[made in china]

I of course can't speak for all but I do not expect mine to be something to prosecute the scum. I use them to let me know the scum are there. Since I can see the entire exterior of the place from my phone I don't have to get up if the dogs say "hey something is out there!". When I am sleeping I can just look and see what it is. Since I buy the vast majority of my stuff delivered I know when it hits the porch. Since I am home I can then go get it before the scum. Also has come in real handy with FedEx since their service want to crap. Many times now they notify me my stuff was delivered. I would call saying my camera shows you were never here. When I work all night and Wife is home alone we both love them. I can look in at any time to see what's going on outside, she can look if dogs tell her something is there. I have never done it but I could even talk to people at either front or back door if I wished. Wife did one time when this place was being worked on and we were not moved in yet. One of the contractors was at the door. Wife called him, said I see you, will call your phone to set up time. So of course not everyone is in the same situation I am so these will not work for all like this. I would not be without them now.
Years ago neighbor got a LARGE planter stolen. She did come over to ask. I found the scum, showed her the tape. She made a copy not expecting the Police to do anything but to share with other neighbors. To watch for the vehicle and scum person.

I must admit, I have cameras too.

Not to "catch" bad people, but I was getting tired of dog poop in my yard, the cameras helped me resolve that issue. My home insurance company actually provided cameras for us, no cost.

I also had it help me last week. USPS said they delivered a package to my door step at 2:32p, but there was no package there. I looked over the video from that time frame, saw the USPS guy park in front of my house, get confused, walk down an easement between my 2 neighbors houses and deliver the package to the back door of a home on another street. So, I was able to get my package back.

 

[Alexx1401]

I must admit, I have cameras too.

Not to "catch" bad people, but I was getting tired of dog poop in my yard, the cameras helped me resolve that issue. My home insurance company actually provided cameras for us, no cost.

I also had it help me last week. USPS said they delivered a package to my door step at 2:32p, but there was no package there. I looked over the video from that time frame, saw the USPS guy park in front of my house, get confused, walk down an easement between my 2 neighbors houses and deliver the package to the back door of a home on another street. So, I was able to get my package back.

YEP! Damn things are so cheap now days and they can be VERY handy. In laws got one for their trash of all things. They are very old and go to bed early. On trash day people across the street who did not want to pay for a larger can would come over and jam stuff in the old peoples trash to the point they got a bill from the city for the mess. At first they had no idea what the hell was going on till they saw it on tape. One of Wife's sibling knocks on the door of offenders trying to be nice. As so often happens the offenders went full asshat. She just pulled out her phone, showed them the video. Said ok we tried to do this nice. Now it's time to call the Police then. All of a sudden Mr asshat is hat in hand saying it will not happen again. This over $20 a month more to just get the next size larger trash can for himself. Some times humans make me like my Dogs that much more

 

[nwwoodsman]

I guess it depends where you live, but many places (police) won't do squat with your video.

Unless it's someone you know, there's not much you can do.

I don't expect the police to do anything for a minor property crime. Their presence is so small that just last night the windows at the police station were all busted out. No news of an arrest yet. When my car was broken into, my property was quickly returned thanks to someone who wasn't on the police force. A police report was never made.

Things work a little different in small towns than in large cities. Crimes are usually committed by the same bunch of bubblegum heads. I'm counting on either myself or someone I know recognizing any person who would pull another stunt around my place again.