Community Mailbox Vandalism (aka, why I joined the forum)

[ctm]

I have had BI for several years, I always wanted cameras so I could see what was happening and "catch" anything nefarious.
Early last month someone broke into the community mailboxes, which I knew my cameras weren't focusing in on, but honestly I was trying to respect my neighbors.
There are several neighbors with your typical doorbell or floodligght cameras, but no one else recorded anything.
I have attached a still image of the 4min video I captured that shows the car driving up, the guy forcing the mailboxes open and taking all the mail and driving away.
But because I wasn't aiming at that location (or using a cameras to identify at that location) I am in the gray area where the HOA says "wow, you caught the whole thing" while the police response was "there is no actionable information in the video".
But, I have learned my lesson. I have a t5442 6mm aimed that direction (probably should have gone with a varifocal, but it is a vast improvement), also have a z12e to catch plates (only lpc at the moment) and I have a pair of 5442-z4es watching over the parking. Minor crimes seem to happen frequently enough in my neighborhood (a few times a year).
Hopefully next time I will be able to provide better videos by using better cameras abd setting and more thoughful setups and this information in this forum will help guide me to have useful surveillance, not just superficial surveillance.

 

[CanCuba]

I have had BI for several years, I always wanted cameras so I could see what was happening and "catch" anything nefarious.
Early last month someone broke into the community mailboxes, which I knew my cameras weren't focusing in on, but honestly I was trying to respect my neighbors.
There are several neighbors with your typical doorbell or floodligght cameras, but no one else recorded anything.
I have attached a still image of the 4min video I captured that shows the car driving up, the guy forcing the mailboxes open and taking all the mail and driving away.
But because I wasn't aiming at that location (or using a cameras to identify at that location) I am in the gray area where the HOA says "wow, you caught the whole thing" while the police response was "there is no actionable information in the video".
But, I have learned my lesson. I have a t5442 6mm aimed that direction (probably should have gone with a varifocal, but it is a vast improvement), also have a z12e to catch plates (only lpc at the moment) and I have a pair of 5442-z4es watching over the parking. Minor crimes seem to happen frequently enough in my neighborhood (a few times a year).
Hopefully next time I will be able to provide better videos by using better cameras abd setting and more thoughful setups and this information in this forum will help guide me to have useful surveillance, not just superficial surveillance.

Welcome! Spend some time here and I'm sure you'll be much better for it. Follow the advice of the resident pros is the best advice I can give you.

HOAs can be tricky. Between different rules for different jurisdictions and HOAs, if applicable, rules are different for different people. Fortunately, I'm in a situation where I can record anything I can reasonably see from my property save for pointing cameras directly into other people's windows or their backyards/etc.

Here's a shot from my primary overview camera:



Ask both the police and the HOA what you're allowed to record and try to get everything in writing. From there, draw out a plan with the help of some of the members here. There's quite a hive mind here with a lot of good ideas.