Posted on 11/14/2018 7:34:18 PM PST by Kaslin
Well, it’s happening in more places than just Baltimore, but they probably need the help more than most cities. The subject at hand is the trend of police departments solving crimes in greater numbers because of the increasing number of home and business owners who have external security cameras monitoring their property… and the street beyond. As this report from CBS Baltimore indicates, some cases which might otherwise have gone cold wound up being solved in short order.
When police needed a break to solve a high-profile murder in Federal Hill this year, they turned to neighbors who protect their own homes with security cameras.
For the first time ever, enough homeowners in Maryland have security cameras or video doorbell systems that police can tap into to solve crimes before they turn cold.
It’s like having dozens of police officers responding to a crime scene — except in reality it’s only a few officers.
That’s how local police are describing a relatively new crime-fighting tool that uses video from doorbell and security cameras to identify criminals and solve crimes.
That’s what happened in September when 25-year-old Timothy Moriconi was walking home from a relative’s house when someone came up and shot him in the head, apparently as part of a robbery gone bad. A person who lived in the vicinity heard the shot and went out to look, but the shooter was gone. The police were called, but Moriconi was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Nobody saw anything and there were no leads.
But the cops noticed that several of the residents in the area had security cameras installed on their homes and asked for the video. Soon they had a picture of the car used by the person fleeing the scene. Then from another camera, they had the license number. And now the suspect is in jail. Apparently, that’s happening more and more. As the price of these doorbell cameras and external security cams continues to come down, more and more homeowners and businesses are installing them. As long as they’re willing to turn over their recordings to the cops, it will be harder for people to commit crimes on the streets with impunity.
Of course, there’s one question hanging over this subject which I just have to ask. Every time I write anything about red light cameras, license plate readers or facial recognition technology, the libertarians come out of the woodwork screaming about how it’s an invasion of privacy and a plot by the government to monitor everyone’s movements and deprive them of their liberty.
Well… how about this? Is this okay? Are cameras installed by private citizens on their own property who then turn over video footage to the police something you can finally be comfortable with and give us a better chance of solving crimes? Or was this just unfair to the killer of Timothy Moriconi? Perhaps the cops should have been denied the video and left to sniff around the curb hoping the shooter left a trail of breadcrumbs.
If we get to the point where external home security cameras are so ubiquitous entire cities and towns are almost completely covered, criminals will eventually get the message. It’s certainly a cheaper solution than trying to afford a cop on every street corner in the country.
I want my home safe. All good with obeying the Law.
Yes sir.
We are all to be watched by the all seeing eyes.
For there is no internal moral character.
And God knows it is important to make the cop’s job easier, by treating us all as criminals.
I read this as Private Citizens choosing to ARM their properties with Cameras...if it prevents a crime or catches the criminal, I see no problem with it...altho I don’t like the fact that our society has a large group of individuals who are immoral....causing the desire to have cameras. (NOTE: We do not have cameras around our home.)
BUT...we do have a cop who lives across the street...and parks his vehicle obviously outside.
Yeah, just the other day a Michigan homeowner was sent to prison for shooting at a kid who knocked on his front door. It was all captured on his own security camera.
Maybe we can get the police to buy security cameras and give them to us to install on our property.
Neighborhood digital watch ........ with evidence versus hearsay. Works at my house just fine. Highly recommend this .
Well, initially I thought maybe this was what the article was about, but no, it was private ownership and installation.
“A robbery gone bad” is a pretty damn offensive thing to say when you get down to it. Who even thinks that way?
It necessarily implies that there is such a thing as a robbery gone good, or OK, or what?
Just yesterday in Topeka, KS, I read that the police were doing exactly that.
First thing I did moving in my new place was place cameras everywhere. When you’ve been robbed in your own home at gun point, placing threatening signs and cameras all around is the first thing you do.
OK, the first thing you do is make sure you’re armed, but that’s the second thing you do.
No shame in that game.
[Robbery gone bad] == [Victim didn't act like a taxpayer]
At least somebody’s solving them.
I have security cameras outside of my home to keep and eye on the goings on. Not only are they good for helping with crime but they also provide entertainment.
Yup! I have half a dozen cameras and watch a monitor on a large screen. More than once I've seen someone (usually a woman) walking a dog and then letting it get ready to do a dump on my lawn. I run to the door and start berating the person to not choose my lawn for their dirty business. They're surprised, so I point to the cameras. There's a couple I ordered to come back and pick up the crap (they obviously had no intent to do so until I confronted them). Then there's the times I've caught neighbors arguing, sometimes with the cops coming out (I have an audio feed). Hint: I also have a couple dummy cameras also but others seeing them don't know that and that helps me to keep burglars away.
I have a sign in my window that says:
“Warning Security Cameras In Use”
We had 2 packages stolen in the building in a week. I suspect the guy who moved out soon after. I then found the security sign on the internet and printed it on photo paper so it looks real.
I have no camera and so far no more stolen packages and the apt manager/owners have not broken into my apt as I knew they have in the past. When there was an “inspection” a few months back they skipped my place. I had bought one temporarily and set it up during the time they were going to “inspect”. Had it pointed right at the door. No one entered.
"For legal reasons: We will share personal information with third parties if we have a good faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to (i) meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable government request; (ii) enforce Nest policies or contracts, including investigation of potential violations; (iii) detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues; (iv) protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of Nest, our users or the public as required or permitted by law."
What's really great about these companies maintaining your data is they are free to share it without worrying about those pesky Constitutional rights.
I know, I know, none of you would ever break the law, even if that means not reading your Bibles because of the hate speech contained therein...
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