It seems criminals in California are getting a lot of use out of surveillance technology.
Multiple reports from neighborhoods across Southern California have come in of folks finding cheap cameras with small battery packs lovingly packaged in camouflage tape and pointed at their homes. In Santa Barbara, the discovery of cameras has coincided with home alarm system warnings of break-in attempts. Reports of similarly hidden cameras have come from Alhambra, Garden Grove, Glendale, and Beverly Hills. It would appear that next to bolt cutters, cheap cameras are pretty handy!
"The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office would like the public to be aware of this incident and encourage anyone who finds a similar device to immediately report it to law enforcement," said the sheriff's department.
Similar crimes involving hidden cameras have been reported across Southern California recently, and could possibly be connected to what's known as "burglary tourism," which authorities say is when people from other countries enter the U.S. under the guise of tourism so they can target neighborhoods to commit burglary.
Earlier this month, police in Alhambra found a hidden camera planted in the bushes, facing someone's home. The victims' alarm company had notified them about an attempt to open their kitchen window earlier that day.
ABC7
I wonder what the answer to this will be. Miniature EMPs for your landscaping?
