Home surveillance video catches suspected thieves in the act
Video from a neighbor’s security camera clearly shows two men going up to cars and peering inside.
“You’ve picked the wrong neighborhood because we’re all on alert now,” says one neighbor who asked to remain anonymous.
She says her neighbors on Cucaracha Court in San Luis Obispo are being vigilant and aware of their surroundings.
“One of the things that really bothered me was a little girl who had her birthday money in the car, she lost her money. The people that take helmets and money have no idea that the other people don’t have the money to replenish these items,” she tells us.
Police say the two men in the video are suspected of stealing from unlocked cars.
While many of the homes are protected with surveillance cameras and motion sensing lights, neighbors we spoke with did not want to appear on camera in fear of being targeted again.
San Luis Obispo Police says crimes like these are on the rise and they partly blame the voter approved Prop 57 that allows the release of non-violent felons back onto the streets.
“People now that we used to take and book into county jail for drug possession, we’re simply citing them with a citation and they’re back onto the street. We know historically that people that are addicted to drugs are often the people that are often committing these thefts,” explains Captain Chris Staley of the San Luis Obispo Police Department.
Police recommend always locking your car doors and taking your valuables inside your home with you, in order to make your car less of a target.
Those who live on Cucaracha Court however, are taking it one step further – they say the whole street has downloaded the Next Door app on their tablets and phones, which is a private social network for neighbors to communicate with each other.
“People in the neighborhood sign up for it and then if there’s things that are happening like this – we notify everyone,” says the neighbor who asked to remain anonymous.
The two men in the video are still out there. If you have any information, please call the San Luis Obispo Police.
