IP Cameras Catch Burglars in the Act

What Every Police Officer Wants for Evidence

IP cameras are sending some burglars to the big house after a string of burglaries in a small eastern Iowa town earlier this week.

Crooks broke into a church, three office buildings and a school doing thousands of dollars in damage and hauling off a grand or so in loot.

It turns out that one business they decided to bypass was a computer store that had been broken into twice in the past and prompted the owner of the small shop to install motion lights and IP cameras in front of his building. The first time he was broken into they took what computer equipment he had. Initially the windows were boarded up immediately after the burglary awaiting insurance settlement and glass repair.

Then after the glass was replaced they soon hit again, figuring that the store would be filled with brand new equipment purchased by the insurance company. So in went the IP camera and recording software.

The night of the recent burglaries they skipped his business, but not before walking in front of his business a couple of times looking in the window, thus triggering the motion lights and leaving a couple of nice profile shots on the IP camera recording software.

Police took a lot of evidence and a lot of fingerprints from the businesses broken into, but once the investigating officer got a look at the video taken by the IP cameras in front of the computer store the officer stated "I know who that is".

Police later made several arrests and the officer in charge made the statement that those involved are headed to Anamosa prison and he is glad they are off the street.

Only one of the businesses had an alarm system, and when it was triggered officers responded but found no one around by the time they arrived.

It is difficult to say what the outcome would have been if not for the recorded images from the IP cameras that the computer store owner had installed. Those images of the burglars made it a quick and easy process for police to apprehend those responsible and get them off the street.