On the evening of Aug. 17, two men stole nearly $1,000 worth of merchandise from a shop at the Hotel Captain Cook in downtown Anchorage.
They escaped, but because of a security camera inside the hotel police were able to see exactly what they look like.
"Generally speaking, there's video of most crimes that are committed,” said Sgt. Mike Couturier of the Anchorage Police Department. "Once we have the video we can take stills of it and then put those out to the public to determine who's who, and who's doing what."
The hotel is just one of thousands of businesses and homes around Anchorage armed with video surveillance systems. According to security consultants, those cameras are becoming more powerful and accurate than ever before.
"They can read your credit card, if they want to,” said Ron Wilde of Action Security. “They can tell if you did your nails—they can do that."
They’re capable of storing information longer, too. Wilde said many systems are capable of archiving a 24-hour stream of video surveillance for up to two months.
But the increase in surveillance systems isn’t just limited to security cameras. You can now use webcams to monitor the weather at trailheads or even sneak a peek at how long the line is at the DMV.
All that technology boils down to one simple fact.
"There's a good chance you'll be on video somewhere if you go someplace in the city of Anchorage,” Wilde said.
So, smile! You’re probably on candid camera.
