After my break in, and the attempt to break into my office, my neighbor, Larry- told me to start capturing video to my hard drive. I’m not saying if I am, or if I’m not, but Larry sure is.

Last night at 1:15 am- he had an unwelcome visitor. Thanks to some Jack Russell terriers and a video surveillance system, all we have of Larry’s visit is some very good video-here is a frame:

There have been a rash of break-ins in South East. Police are still coming, dusting for prints, taking reports, arresting a few people, who then turn around and walk right back out of jail.

It’s time for a different approach. Do you know this loser? We have a lot more video- his car, him reaching over the gate to unlock it- even him looking up as Larry yelled at him. Even though we know he wasn’t there to sell cookies or popcorn for scouts, he didn’t complete his crime, so we can’t give him time. We can almost be assured though, that if we figure out who he is, we could probably solve some other crimes.

Although I hate the idea of “Big Brother” it’s time to supplement police patrols with security video in large areas. Once an area starts having a problem, deploy a network of surveillance cams and feeds- and wait for the criminals to come again. The system would be portable and easily deployable. Some of it may be operated by the neighborhoods.

It’s time to take our neighborhoods back, and if it’s one video camera at a time, so be it.

Now, just tell us who the loser is in the video for $100, please…