KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasSurveillance Cameras: Resolution Counts
(Mar. 2) -- Police released video Tuesday of an armed robbery over the weekend at Harrah's Casino on The Strip. Authorities hope that someone can help identify the two men who robbed a keno cashier's booth early Saturday morning. The video shows two men wearing fishing-style hats and white shoes robbing the casino. One man pointed a gun and forced people to lie on the ground while the other went into the booth and put the cash in a backpack. The surveillance tape is not very clear and the quality of surveillance video can make all the difference in catching criminals red-handed.
The owner of a Chatterbox Wireless business watched a video of an employee stealing thousands of dollars worth of cell phones while he was on vacation thousands of miles away.
Jonathan Fine is president of Sting Surveillance. He says, "Someone is going to commit a crime no matter what, these cameras are a deterrent. If someone is dumb enough to commit a crime with a camera in front of them they are going to get caught."
Sting Surveillance is a company that offers customized remote digital surveillance. There are several types of cameras. "We have an infrared camera that can sit outside in pitch black and see the green images you see when you're looking at the images from Iraq," Fine explained. The infrared camera allows you to digitally zoom in and even move an image to get a better picture. "It's a way to manage employees, lower your liability."
It's very simple for business owners. All they need is a digital video recorder, the receiver and a camera. Fine has even developed software for several gentlemen's clubs that allow owners to scan a person's credit card, driver's license, and face while recording them signing the amount they owe.
The technology is growing so fast -- the quality, resolution, and capabilities are improving every month. You can monitor the video from pretty much anywhere, the Internet, a pocket PC and soon cell phones will become more common.
Lieutenant Ted Snodgrass, Metro robbery, says good quality surveillance video can often make or break a case. "It's something we can all identify with -- you look at it and it has the ghost image in the picture. It's just as frustrating when you see it and the position of the camera is not good. In my estimation there is more hard cash in Las Vegas than anywhere else in this country."
Sting Surveillance offers custom software for businesses ranging in price from $85 a month to thousands of dollars. The company has more than 70 clients in Nevada and California.
