Two Minnesota homeowners were tipped off to home invasions within the last two weeks with the help of their smartphone and a few handy gadgets.
Joe Craddock, who owns a home in South Minneapolis, was able to catch a fugitive red-handed using the Dropcam by Nest video monitoring system. Craddock said he was at work when he got an alert that there was movement in his supposed-to-be-empty home.
“It is really nice to have your phone, get an alert when there’s motion, be able to see a still of it, and click to see exactly what’s going on in your house,” Craddock said.
Craddock said the intruder was gone by the time police arrived, but he hopes the surveillance footage will help investigators find their man. Craddock added that his home monitoring system costs about $300, and it allows him to watch a live feed of his home on his phone or computer. Craddock said he is now looking into other security measures for his home, like CCTV and unbreakable glass after coming across this site, https://www.riotglass.com/unbreakable-glass/, which offers security glass.
Baby Monitoring App Catches Thief
Police said Craddock’s case was the second time in a couple weeks a homeowner used their smartphone to prevent a burglary. A few weeks ago a Roseville woman was alerted to a man outside her residence thanks to her “Cloud Baby Monitor” app. The woman was living in Kansas for the winter when the app alerted her to a presence outside her Roseville home. She called local authorities and they were able to aprehend the suspect with stolen goods in his pockets. Using your phone in this way is definitely an effective method to prevent a burglary, but it’s also worth considering Graceland replacement windows, locking your door when you leave, or even installing an alarm system just for that extra security.
The woman said the app, motion sensors and a monitoring hub cost less than $200.
“This woman does a do-it-yourself home burglary monitoring system for less than $200, and we catch a burglar basically walking out of the house,” Roseville Police Lt. Lorne Rosand said.
Maple Grove Crime Prevention officer Todd Strege said apps and user-installed systems are becoming more popular as homeowners are taking safety into their own hands.
“How readily available the equipment is now – plus as user friendly as it is – it’s not very hard to buy a complete system yourself and put it in.”
Home monitoring systems from Brinks or ADT can cost $600 a year, and that doesn’t even include installation fees.
Related source: CBS Minnesota
