Blogger 365 Day 25 - Inspector Gadget

     At work we are in the process of installing a new register and camera system.  I say in the process because things are still being tweaked at this point, such as this past week we added credit card swiping software right onto the register terminals to replace the counter top credit card machines we had previously used.  Likewise we replaced the camera system hardware in the basement, replacing the older model with a new version that not only allows us to monitor all 16 cameras we have, but everything has been simplified to the point where much of the newer software is point and click, a far cry from the convoluted process we used to have to go through in order to located older footage.



     I say this because on Friday I received a call prior to my leaving work for the day from the Pittsburgh Police Department.  Apparently someone had come in the store the previous afternoon and tried to use a stolen credit card.  The card had already been reported stolen so the customer was not able to charge anything on it (it was declined at the point of sale), but by trying to use it, the customer unknowingly ended up notifying the local constabulary.  Thus my phone call Friday as I was leaving, where I was asked by a detective if we have cameras in our store, and I said we did.  He explained what had happened, so I asked some questions that I thought were pertinent, what time this occur, how much was the transaction for, can I get a number to call back if I find anything.  With that information, I ended the phone call by saying I would contact them tomorrow with anything that I may find.

     Apparently that wasn't fast enough, because an hour or so after I left work, two detectives showed up at Smithfield News.  Nobody after I left had keys for the office, Dee had left around 2:30 for a doctor's appointment she had put off twice already, I had left shortly after the call to head home for the evening so the detectives left, perhaps a little disappointed, but given I said I would call on Saturday if I learned anything I am not sure what they expected.

     So today I get into work, first to Gus Millers to do the lottery machines, then to Smithfield where I counted the lottery money first and then I went about seeing if I couldn't use these new toys that we now have to play with.  Since I had an idea of how much the attempted transaction entailed, first I went into our register system and pulled a log for the 10 or so minutes around the time the police said the attempt was made.  Of the 15-20 sales that were rung up during that time, or at least attempted to be rung up, only one looked close to what I was looking for.  A big plus to the new system is that not only did it give me a list of transactions but it told me which cashier had done which one, so I could then go to our new camera system, pick the camera closest to that register and aim for the time the transaction took place.  It really took almost no time at all, within 5 to 10 minutes I had the person on camera, attempting to buy two packs of cigarettes, two packs of cigarillos and a couple of single cigarillos.  The card was swiped twice on the new card swipes on the register, both of which failed, then the counter unit was used (we still have those hooked up, until we are comfortable enough that the registers will work without fail) and again the card was declined, so the cashier took back the merchandise and the customer left. 

     I have found what I am looking for, but now I want to backtrack the cameras so that I can see when this person came in the store, where all did they go and how many cameras can I get them on.  As luck would have it, the customer came in the store, went first to our ATM to try to get cash out (she was declined there too), then went directly to the register to try to make her purchases,.  So I ended up spotting this person on 4 different cameras, and was in the process of marking the times on each one when Belinda came in the office and said the police were here.  Talk about perfect timing.

     So I sat in the office with two detective, I reviewed all of the shots that I had and they asked if they could have a copy, so my skill with the new system was tested again, but I managed to give them 5 different video cuts burnt to DVD.  The person on the DVD was a female, apparently she was working in cahoots with a man when they robbed an 83 year old woman at a grocery store a few days prior and while the police had a picture of the man, they didn't have anything on the woman involved yet.  As an added bonus, because I knew who waited on this lady from the register report, I was able to get the detectives to talk to the cashier a little as well since she was working this morning too.

     As of now, I don't know if the police now anything more, I know the story and well as a couple of pictures from our camera system were released to the media, and appeared on at least one TV station at 6pm.  That would be right about here .  If I learn anything more I will keep you posted.