Sugar Land Police Make the Most of Security Cameras

If you're planning to commit a crime in Sugar Land, Texas, you better hope there aren't any cameras around. Lately, the Sugar Land Police Department has been using high-quality surveillance systems to their advantage. The cameras are leading to arrests, providing evidence, and helping police to remove dangerous and obnoxious criminals from the street.

On January 24th, 2010, at 11:41, PM, the Sugar Land Police Department received a call about several men breaking into cars in the parking lot of the AMC Theater located on Town Center Boulevard. Six men were taken into custody, based on the description provided by witnesses. But when it came time to file charges against the suspects, police turned to the AMC Theater's surveillance video. The video led to charges of burglary of a motor vehicle and engaging in organized criminal activity for the six young men, who ranged from age 17-21.

"This incident illustrates the importance of citizens being aware of their surroundings and immediately reporting suspicious activity to police. It also shows the value of surveillance cameras as an investigative tool," said Sgt. Mike Richards of the Sugar Land Police Department. The police department is currently working with neighborhoods and retail establishments to encourage surveillance camera installation for security purposes.

As a matter of fact, it was the cameras at the entrance of Eldridge Lake Subdivision that helped provide detectives with information about a woman who was attacked in her garage. On January 22nd, at 10:00 PM, a 60-year-old woman was in her garage, exiting her vehicle. She was confronted by three men who displayed a handgun and took her cell phone and purse. They lady was not hurt and said she noticed the men were driving a red car. Cameras that had been purchased and installed by the neighborhood's homeowners association confirmed the woman's words. A newer, red Chevrolet Cavalier followed the woman into the subdivision and left shortly after the robbery took place.

The police are still looking for the three men, who were described as being around six feet tall, wearing black clothing and ski masks. If you have any information, please contact the Sugar Land Police Department at 281-275-2540 or Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS (8477).

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Connecticut Residents Use Cameras to Deter Speeders

If you're driving on Terry Road between Bloomfield and Hartford Connecticut you may want to slow down. A few neighborhood residents who call themselves the "Terry Road Action Committee" have mounted two surveillance cameras on a tree along side of the road. They say their goal was to protect the over 30 children who live on the street from speeders.

Upon installing the cameras, the group handed out fliers at the nearby University of Hartford, explaining the cameras and why they installed them. They promised to notify police, the university, insurance companies or a student's parents if a student was caught driving recklessly through the neighborhood. They even offer a $500 reward for anyone who reports a speeder.

Jonathan Fairbanks, a member of the group, told a local newspaper that they have seen a decrease in the number of speeders since the cameras have been put into place, and that overall traffic has slowed down. He is the owner of both the cameras and the tree which they are mounted on. Otherwise, he is very secretive about the cameras.

The speed limit in the area is 25 MPH and police have increased traffic enforcement there. Residents have also tried placing traffic cones in the road and requesting the city put speed bumps there, but none of those ideas worked. Fairbanks said speeding and reckless driving are most prevalent when students return to the college in the fall and after the winter break.

John Carson, the vice president of university relations said the school has no problem with the cameras. "We haven't heard or seen any concerns... we don't have a sense that they are infringing on any innate right," he said in an interview with a local paper. City police said they were unaware of the cameras and have not been involved.

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Looking for a DVR or NVR Security Camera System? If so call today at 877-422-1907 x226 for a free phone consultation.

Texas Beach Neighborhood Installs Security Cameras

A subdivision with public beach access in Galveston, Texas is beefing up security. The homeowner's association of Pirate's Beach has installed four security cameras to monitor who comes in and out of the neighborhood. Many of the homes in the neighborhood are vacation homes, which means they aren't always occupied by their owners.

Ron Pearrow, a neighborhood resident who was for the cameras, says it wasn't burglaries or break-ins that prompted the installation of the cameras, but more of a desire to keep an eye on things and possibly prevent any future incidents. Homeowners have seen an increase of beach-goers trespassing on private property.

Even so, Pearrow says homeowners aren't trying to prevent the public from taking advantage of the beaches, “Ninety-nine percent of the people who use the beach do so in a reasonable manner,” he told the Galveston County Daily News. “But there are people who don’t. The Open Beaches Act does not say you can park in a driveway, ask to borrow a beach towel or use someone’s shower."

If an incident were to take place in one of the private homes located in the neighborhood, homeowners may not discover it until weeks later, but with the cameras, police will have some added evidence to help them carry out an investigation.

Pearrow is insistent that the homeowner's association simply wants to protect their private property and not limit access to the beach. Two cameras were installed at Pirate's Beach's entrance and the other two were installed at nearby banks where people can also enter the neighborhood. The cameras are set up to catch images of everyone who comes and goes from the subdivision, as well as vehicle license plate numbers.

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Looking for a DVR or NVR Security Camera System? If so call today at 877-422-1907 x226 for a free phone consultation.