Home security cameras aid law enforcement in theft investigations

MADISON, Wis (WMTV) Madison Police are actively searching for a man who stole a car out of someone’s garage early Thursday morning on Dorchester Way. The Madison Police Department public information officer, Joel DeSpain said a home security video, which captured the entire theft on camera, has played a crucial role in investigating the theft. “It’s a fairly decent surveillance set of images that we’ve now released to the media, and we are getting good leads in that case and we are very hopeful that we can make an arrest very soon,” he said. DeSpain said there are many options for home security systems available, and they all aid law enforcement in catching criminals. “Sometimes it’s in a garage, or it’s in someone’s doorbell and sometimes it’s inside the home itself,” DeSpain said. He said the department is seeing more people come forward with home surveillance footage. “In the last few years we have been using video and surveillance in numerous cases, sometimes all of our cases we will find video that’s helpful,” he said. DeSpain said there are surveillance systems virtually everywhere now, including city buses, apartment buildings, and in peoples’ homes. One Madison resident, Beau Poehls, said he uses a Ring Video Doorbell camera. The camera is hidden inside the doorbell, motion-activated and records everything. Late last month, a man stole an extension cord off of Poehls’ front porch. The doorbell camera captured the entire thing. Whenever it detects motion it will record a video segment of it and notify us via an app on our phone,” he said. While the person who stole his extension cord has not been identified, Poehls said having the camera provides a peace of mind knowing he always knows when someone is around his home. “We have so many things delivered, so knowing when they arrive. It was pretty helpful just for knowing who is coming here,” Poehls said. DeSpain said many of these types of cases would never be solved without the help of video cameras. “With the imagery we are able to quickly, in many cases, now identify and arrest a suspect,” DeSpain said. Home security systems continue to help police find thieves. @madisonpolice posts these videos on their website and on their YouTube page. I talked to one homeowner who watched a video of someone steal something right off his porch in broad daylight. @nbc15_madison — Caroline Peterson (@carolineNBC15) July 6, 2018

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