Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Thieves caught on video

This is topic Thieves caught on video - now what? in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-08-2008, 03:37 PM:

OK, this is a ground floor question, but it relates to the video store I run rather than the theatre I work in. I hope I can stretch the posting rules a bit...

Someone here is bound to be more experienced with this sort of thing than I am and may be able to offer some sage advice.

The situation is that we've had several DVDs stolen recently from the store, and the other day this young guy was loitering suspiciously, so I captured his photo from the surveillance footage.

Just yesterday, two more DVD's were stolen, and one of them was located right under one of our cameras. I went through the day's footage, and bingo - there's the same guy from the other day's footage (this time with a buddy in tow) and yes, he can be clearly seen picking up the case for the very DVD that is now no longer with us.

What is the best course of action to make sure that this guy and his buddies never bother us again?

I will show the staff the footage so that they all recognise him for next time...but if we spot him in the store, what is the best thing to say or do? I am thinking that showing the footage to the local police may be helpful in case other shopkeepers have reported them already, but I doubt that this will be effective in keeping them away.

Any suggestions? There is a whole world of experience on film-tech. [Wink]

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 02-08-2008, 04:25 PM:

I would call the police and show them the tape then tell them that the next time the guy enters the store you are going to call them. If the tape SHOWS him putting the DVD under his coat or something then I would ask them to arrest him, either way tell the cops you want to place a "No Trespass" order on the guy and his friend. Also, the cops will probably run the guys name so if he has any outstanding warrants or probation/parole they will take him anyway.

Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-08-2008, 06:17 PM:

Ugh!!!

I just attempted to copy the footage off the hard drive onto a compact flash card. This kept generating an error so I rebooted the recorder. The cooling fans started whining and then the whole thing ground to a spectacular halt.

The techs are on their way but I hope the hard drive is salvagable! Wouldn't it be just the thing if it was unfixable...we'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I have the pics of the guy from the other day and now my staff know what (who) to look for. Unfortunately, the recorder powered the cameras - so no cameras over the weekend, either... [Mad]

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 02-09-2008, 04:48 AM:

The good/bad thing is they think you're an easy target now so they'll keep coming back-if your footage is lost you will have plenty of opportunity to get new footage.

Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-09-2008, 05:50 AM:

That is true. My hope is that next time they enter, the staff on duty will recognise them and ask them to leave.

Once they are recognised, they will not be able to come back successfully and then the mission will have been accomplished. That would be the best case scenario.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 02-09-2008, 11:22 AM:

I respectfully disagree. The best case scenario would be for this guy to get arrested.

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 02-09-2008, 02:48 PM:

No need to copy anything anywhere. Call the police, and let them watch the raw footage straight from the hard drive.

Have you tried unplugging the power from the security DVR, leave it unplugged for at least 30 minutes, then plug it back in. See if that helps.

Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-11-2008, 09:40 AM:

OK, here's a freaky break in the story:

About half an hour ago (approx 1:30am) I decided to head down to my local service station/7-11 type place for a snack.

Guess who walks in? That's right - it's our friendly neighbourhood thief! I leave first and get his car licence plates (FWIW, it's a very expensive BMW!). Then I sit it my car (a not-so-expensive Camry), start the engine and turn on the headlights, and sit and wait for him to drive out, with the intention of finding out where he lives by following him home...

Well, he obviously recoginsed me too. This service station sits on a main road and has two driveways on it - one for entry and the other for exit. You can also drive around the building and leave via a back exit. He did this, and I followed him. He sped off, but I saw which direction he headed (at 1:30am, not too many cars on the road). I kept my distance, but I kept up. He turned left, then left again...until he was back on the main road and drove past the service station again! In other words, he could have taken the main, front driveway out to the street and made a left if that's all that he wanted to do. Bingo.

I followed him for another 2 kms or so but then decided to call it off. I figured that I have his plates and can follow up that way. Besides, there was no way in hell he was going to pull up at his house now anyway.

I am hoping that the police will cooperate in following up, especially if I can show them the hard drive footage. If the police knock on his door, maybe I can even get the DVDs back.

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 02-11-2008, 09:47 AM:

I would think that it would be a simple matter to go to the local police station and file a charge for theft of merchandise.

Posted by Rick Raskin (Member # 1561) on 02-11-2008, 06:29 PM:

quote: Michael Barry
I followed him.

Probably not the smartest thing to do. What would you have done if the guy had decided to confront you? Call the cops and let them handle it.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 02-16-2008, 01:04 PM:

quote: Michael Barry
I followed him for another 2 kms or so

I love it! Most of what criminals use against you is the idea the you're afraid of them and they can get away with stuff based on that fear because you'll be too scared to interfere. Cops around here don't pay much attention to property crimes against businesses. Maybe it's the same over there? You probably just kept that guy from ever coming in your store again.

Sometimes taking matters in your own hands can spread a message that you're not afraid to do something. Think about it, how many times have you heard of a theft being foiled by some old lady hitting back with her purse or something similar? I say good for you!

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 02-16-2008, 03:36 PM:

Post his pic from the surveillance cameras in your store and the windows.

If that fails to discourage him, shoot the SOB the next time you see him! Make sure you kill him...ya don't want any law suits! HA! [Wink]

Posted by Charles Caron (Member # 3247) on 02-16-2008, 09:42 PM:

Unfortunately, since our down-under brethern were forced to give up their firearms Michael might have to use a boomerang on the guy.... Interesting post on crime stats in AUS. link Remember,when boomerangs are outlawed,only outlaws will have boomerangs !!! [evil]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-16-2008, 10:02 PM:

The above boarders pretty heavily on political talk, which isn't allowed on the board; just as a warning.

Posted by Charles Caron (Member # 3247) on 02-16-2008, 10:56 PM:

It's a joke....or something resembling one... [Big Grin]

sorry

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-16-2008, 11:14 PM:

I'm not mad I just could see a mod going "I don't like where this is heading"

Posted by Charles Caron (Member # 3247) on 02-16-2008, 11:29 PM:

Your picture looks kind of annoyed... [Big Grin]

Anyway, my M.O. is to make a dumb remark and then move on... [beer]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-17-2008, 12:33 AM:

It's just a random picture I took; old friends laughed because I'd give them looks like that all the time as a joke.

Posted by Charles Caron (Member # 3247) on 02-17-2008, 09:50 PM:

It works well...Keep it in your repertoire [thumbsup]

Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-25-2008, 03:52 AM:

Well...my gambit appears to have been successful! We have not seen our friend back in the store since my early morning car chase. [Smile]

The other good bit of news is that all my staff are super keen to spot and catch the guy, so they basically won't have a chance to get through the front door without being seen. I am pretty sure we have seen the last of them.

Posted by Andy Frodsham (Member # 4061) on 03-05-2008, 04:00 AM:

A guy over here in the UK, who runs a pub, recently had a break-in at night. The offenders were caught on camera. For the next two weeks he kept running the video of the 'event' in his fully crowded bar!

Good entertainment and a brilliant opportunity to shame the perpetrator!

Posted by Ed Alvarado (Member # 2760) on 03-23-2008, 04:39 PM:

hmmm when I worked for a video rental job we had this guy who keeps showing up and dvd's would keep coming up missing. So sicne we couldnt call the police with out any proof and no camera installed we had to keep waiting.
After two keeps and the same guy would do the same thing every day and he never rented or bought anything but he went to the same spot where the dvd's are at and walk out every time and never bought anything so we called the cops to show up on the same day he shows up and when he walked out the store the cops pulled him over and BAM! he used a magnet and blades to take out our dvd's so thats how we caught him.

while he was crying for stealing I was laughing the whole time it was classic just classic