To Catch a Thief

A number of years ago, we had several brand new Dell desktops (still in the box) disappear from a locked storage suite. Only three people had keys to that area - myself, the legal administrator, and, of course, the building's security company - Vance International.

The security guards were only authorized to enter our offices to admit and observe the cleaning crew. We had our suspicions that the guards themselves were the culprits - but no proof.

With two crisp $1 bills left on my desk and a $29 program created by Marc Schneider, Web Cam Control Center ("WCCC" for short), we were able to confirm our suspicions (see the image, above). WCCC allowed us to define portions of the web cam's field of view and continually track that area for "X" percent of change - comparing each frame against the prior frame - or against a predefined frame. Each time motion is detected, WCCC begins capturing still frames - or movie clips - and either emails those files off or sends them to an ftp server. With that level of functionality, you can receive alerts on your Blackberry, quickly review the attached image, and call the police - if appropriate - in near real time.

To Vance International's credit, they swiftly set up a sting to catch this guy in the act. To Vance's disgrace, they simply fired the guard rather than prosecuting. In the end, the firm was compensated for the cost of the missing Dells (from building management, not Vance) - and we learned the valuable lesson that a picture is worth a thousand words.