Hidden Cams in Kansas Help Catch Littering Thief

Posted on 19th Jan 2012 @ 1:43 PM

In Saline County, Kansas, the police department has figured out a new way to fight crime and deter criminal activities: using hidden cameras. With the use of strategically placed hidden cameras, the police department is now able to capture crimes and other activity that they might not have been able to catch before. These cameras have several different applications and can be used in many different ways to stop criminal activity, or to capture criminal activity if it does happen in the most secretive and covert of ways.

In the wooded area of Saline County, the Saline County Sherriff’s Department has been implementing hidden outdoor “game cameras,” cameras designed specifically for viewing and recording images in wooded areas or other natural surroundings. With these cameras, the Sherriff’s Department is hoping to capture activity that criminals would otherwise assume to be completely hidden, but with these new cameras, the Sherriff’s Department can say that they really do have an eye on everything that’s happening.  

Lieutenant Stan Fruits with the Saline County Sherriff’s Department released this statement regarding the use of hidden cameras in and around Saline County as part of their investigations: "We started using cameras here roughly two or three years ago. We use for anything we are conducting an investigation on."

Over this past weekend, the Sherriff’s Department placed a camera in a covered area in the woods, a popular spot for people to dump their garbage and littering. Investigators were hoping to put an end to the littering in the beautiful natural area. They got a lot more than that with this investigation. The image from the video recording clearly shows a truck model and a license plate, which are all the Sherriff’s Department needs.

"The tag was on a Ford and it came back to it being on a Chevy, the owner of the tag is telling us it was stolen," said Captain Brian Shea, Saline County Sheriff's office. After hearing that the truck was stolen, deputies in the area were put on high alert to be looking for the man seen in the video as well as the stolen truck.

After the word got out that the truck was stolen, it didn’t take long before the deputies found the truck and the driver identified in the video. When the driver was pulled over, police discovered drugs, stolen property, paraphernalia, and a child who was not properly secured into the back seat of the truck. The man was subsequently taken into police custody and the stolen property returned. We can all say that the police got a little more than what they bargained for in this case.

"Sometimes that's the way it works," said Fruits. "You're investigating one thing and as the investigation evolves, you get into other things."

A reminder, say deputies, that cameras could be watching even if officers aren't.

"If they get caught, they'll have to pay the consequences," said Fruits. 

Saline County bought the cameras a couple of years ago online -- with extra money they had in the budget.