Home surveillance cameras helping police catch suspects | News

Horn Lake, MS- (WMC-TV) - Homeowners are catching crooks in the act with their own surveillance cameras. Police say homes equipped with security cameras are becoming increasingly common.

A sneaky thief was caught by surveillance cameras as he stole a bicycle off the victim's front porch recently.

The video, which was shot in Horn Lake, shows the man crossing the street and walking up to a house and then taking the bike.

But the high quality of the surveillance video is a big help to the police.

"The officer made the scene and was able to look at the video on the spot," said Lt. Scott Evans, of the Horn Lake Police Department.

Evans said officers didn't find the suspect, but if he had walked by them they would have known he had on pink clothing and had a pretty good idea what he looked like.

After all, the camera doesn't lie.

"A lot of times the victim and witnesses have it wrong," said Evans. "They don't get the colors right of the clothing. So it's really hard for an officer to pinpoint somebody."

The family had a bicycle stolen two and a half months ago. They didn't report it, but now the house has seven security cameras.

Joe Everson, who owns ISPY in Midtown, says more and more people are buying security cameras for their home.

While the quality of the cameras goes up, the price of the cameras continues to come down, Everson said.

And, you can watch what is going on at your home almost anywhere.

"We can put it on the Internet," said Everson. "IPhone, Blackberry, laptop at your work, on vacation, whatever."

Copyright 2012 WMC-TV. All rights reserved.