July 10, 2007
Surveillance catches dim-witted Googlin' burglars
Surveillance cameras at an indoor amusement park in Colorado Springs, CO captured footage of a long and drawn out robbery, in what is possibly the oddest security-cum-surveillance story of the year. After getting all the passcodes, passwords and door codes to get into the back office at Bigg City, the two masked men, hoping to obscure the lens of the security camera, doused it with a healthy spray of the lubricant WD-40. This backfired after they realized that the continued sprays only made the camera cleaner. For good measure, they made sure to spray the fire alarm - just in case it might be a camera.
Normally, robbery times are on a microscopic scale - the thief's prerogative is to get in and out as quickly as possible. However, the thieves struggled unsuccessfully for 75 minutes to open the safe. In robber time, 75 minutes is approximately the age of the universe. Billions of years fly by, planets form and species evolve and self-destruct in the robber universe while these doofuses try to open the safe door. Finally, the security camera records one robber leaving the room. Giving up on the loot out of sheer desperation? No...he just went next door and found the computer, and searched Google for "How to Crack a Safe." With the valuable information harvested from the Internet, the robbers successfully opened the door, and made out with $12,000, a laptop, and other assorted goodies from Bigg City.
One thing that could have easily ended this silly charade would have been IP cameras. It's likely that Bigg City uses an analog CCTV system, for if there were an IP video security system in place, the software attached to the camera could have sent an e-mail or mobile alert to management and security guards when the cameras detected motion - a common feature on many cameras. Based on the burglar's extended visit to the Bigg City back office, management and security could have had a seven course meal and a stroll through the Alps after receiving the alert, and get back to work in time to catch the thieves in action. However, no such luck. The frighteningly dumb thieves are still on the run, and since they were disguised, officials have no leads on suspects. Anyone with information about the criminals or the crime should contact the Colorado City Police.
Read more at The Denver Channel
Posted by Jennifer on July 10, 2007 5:32 PM | Comments (0)
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