Columns 1 and 2

Column #1

The true story of how security cameras on a public street saved a girl’s life. 

Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was a 22 year old nursing assistant. One night, she was walking down a Philadelphia street when a man grabbed her and manhandles her back to his car. Once in the car, she does everything she can to get out. She shakes the door and kicks out the windows. The security cameras of a local restaurant caught the abduction.The report was put out for a missing person by Carlesha’s family. At this same time, police in Virginia were searching for a man named Delvin Barnes, whose DNA had been found on a teenage girl who stumbled naked and smelling of bleach, into a local gas station. They showed the footage of the abduction to Barnes’ father who then claimed the car was his son’s. Police looked more closely at the car and found a local decal sticker. This specific dealership puts GPS units on cars when the customer has poor credit. The GPS led the police to a shopping center parking lot in Jessup Maryland. Freeland-Gaither was found injured and Barnes did not put up a fight.  

Without the security camera footage, the police would have had no lead on when and where Carlesha was abducted. There was no witnesses at the crime, so if the camera was not there, the police would have had no idea where to look or who to interview. The camera helped tremendously in the investigation because they would not have been able to track the car without the license plate and the decal sticker. Public security cameras are not only helpful for stores and restaurants, but for people passing by too.  

Stores and restaurants put up cameras to protect their customers and their company. The cameras protect the customers because if a personal item was stolen, there was a physical fight, the owners products were stolen or there was a person that went missing at this location, the cameras may be able to catch the crime in it’s act. The camera’s footage is only released to the owner of the cameras and the police. They are not released into the public unless given permission by the owner or the police must use it in the court of law. Most camera footage is not being watched every second of everyday. The cameras are usually watched if someone is suspected of committing a crime or if there is some suspicious activity going on. 

From a personal standpoint, I feel more comfortable walking in an area that has security cameras. It can be very dangerous for a teenage girl to be walking alone, especially at night. There is a sense of comfort knowing that there are cameras on the streets. So many people are told, “be aware of your surroundings”, but we cannot predict or prevent all attacks or crimes. If I were to be walking somewhere and something happened to me, I hope that a security camera from a restaurant or store could help me in my case. If I were in a situation like Carlesha, I would be so thankful for the camera that caught that crime on tape. 

Column #2

The true story of how traffic cameras helped bring justice to two livestock thieves.

In December 2011, cattle rustlers had stolen Ed Davis’ cows. The 77 year old had noticed that close to a dozen of his cattle were missing. Davis put out a report on his stolen animals. Police later came to investigate. The cattle rustlers were also reported of stealing cows from a second pasture while police officers were searching the first. The police could not do anything about the missing animals because there was no proof that they were stolen. The case was finally looked into because traffic cameras in Auburndale, Florida filmed a man in a white Dodge truck, with a trailer, running a red light. The truck ran that red light the same night the cattle was allegedly stolen. The light was ran at 3am.When they looked closer into the trailer, they saw that it was transporting livestock. They searched the license plate and found that the car belonged to Andres Trujilo. Trujilo is known as a livestock thief. Authorizes in close cities told Auburndale police that Yoinel Devera-Gutierrez was wanted in connection with similar thefts. Surveillance videos later found both of the men at a bank going to deposit checks. They were both arrested for Grand Theft of livestock. Unfortunately the cows were sent to slaughter before Davis could get them back. 

Thanks to traffic cameras and the banks security cameras, the police were able to not catch just one, but two people for grand theft of livestock. The traffic camera gave the police information on the owner of the car and the livestock that was in the trailer. The bank’s security cameras gave the authorities the location of the two criminals. Without these types of security cameras police would have not be able to solve this case. 

Traffic cameras are originally used for catching cars that are speeding and running red lights. The cameras have the ability to snap a picture of a car and its license plate when they are doing either of the two crimes. If someone is to run a red light, they will receive a fine in the mail and can cost anywhere from $50-$1300 dollars. If someone is to be speeding, they can receive a fine similar to the red light fine. The amount of money that the government will fine you depends on how fast you were speeding over the speeding limit, how busy the intersection was, and if it is near a school zone. 

Traffic cameras can also be used in car accidents. If both people in the accident say that the incident was not their fault, police can use the traffic cameras to see whose fault it was. This holds the police accountable because they can not be biased when there is footage of the whole accident.