Scott Swanson
Five security cameras stolen from Little Promises Children’s Program on the night of Nov. 16-17 have left the school with some blank spots in its security system and with no clue to where the missing cameras are.
Anita Hutchins, executive director of the school, said thieves initially took one camera at 8:55 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16, then returned at about 2:12 a.m. Wednesday morning and took four more. The school had 16 cameras in all.
Hutchins said the missing ones were taken from the front of the school, along the parking lot, and the back entry area.
She said images of the two thieves and their white, four-door vehicle are visible on the security recordings, since there were other cameras that the thieves apparently did not spot. One camera shows a man with a beanie-style hat and a baggy jacket with the large letters “LA” emblazoned on the back.
The thieves used the school’s ladder, and “carefully left it leaning against the side of the building so no kids would get hurt,” Hutchins said.
Images captured by other cameras, showing the men believed to have removed the missing cameras, include: a hat and glasses; the hat and upper face of a man who is about to remove the camera that recorded this image; another view of what apparently is the same man, this time showing a blue jacket; and another man wearing a cap and a baggy hoody-type jacket with what appears to be “LA” emblazoned on the back.
She said the thieves clearly “were familiar with what we had” and “obviously is someone who doesn’t value the safety of children as much as we do.
“All we really know about this is how much we miss them.”’
The quality of the taped images isn’t good, due to poor lighting on the south end of the parking lot where the thieves parked their car.
“It’s very, very dark there and we have a lot of activity there,” Hutchins said. “People park their cars there and get in with someone else.”
The camera system was completed about two years ago, as the school came up with the money over the course of about 18 months. Some of the funding came from a Sweet Home Community Foundation grant, she said.
Weyerhaeuser employees helped install the cameras and Hutchins said the school had to hire someone to “make the cameras talk to the computer.”
She said that not only did the cameras allow staff members to monitor who was around the school and keep an eye on children’s activities, but the allowed staffers to see when buses arrived in the parking lot, since school staff is required to be present when buses load and unload. Those cameras are now missing.
Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Rae took a report on the theft, but Hutchins said she hasn’t heard form the Sheriff’s Office.
Hutchins said the cameras cost $200 each to replace, but she doesn’t want to put new ones up unless they can be secured better.
“It’s really frustrating that someone would do it to a child care center,” she said.
Anyone who has information on the case is encouraged to contact Deputy Matt Rae (541) 967-3911.