Personal Security Cameras Catch Minneapolis Graffiti Vandals
Three weeks ago, I mentioned that someone should invest in cameras that would help catch graffiti vandals in the act so they could cash in on the $500 rewards the City of Minneapolis is offering for tips leading to convictions.
And tonight, FOX 9 reported that a guy living in the Lyndale Neighborhood, Jim Fiala, has set up security cameras outside his house that have caught 14 vandals on tape.
That could bring in $7000 in just 3 weeks! Wow. Is Jim Fiala going to personally solve Minneapolis’ graffiti problem while cashing in at a rate of $500/day?
Motion security cameras are better than my deer camera idea (I ended up ordering one to test it, but it’s stuck at a FedEx shipping center), but Fiala’s in a unique situation where he lives on a street where the action is right outside his house.
Let me know if you have any suggestions for where I should give my motion detector deer cam a try once I pick it up.
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:55 am
Jim’s had coverage on this before: Here’s a 2006 story from wcco.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:15 am
You should but your camera on or near the model railroad museum on 38th. They seem to get hit viciously by the little scumbuckets. Keep our neighborhood nice, send kids to jail
May 17th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
the more its covered. the more we do it. graff can’t die. we won’t let it.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
fail.
how bout instead of giving this guy 500/day, we invest that money in our schools’ art and music departments. then our children would have socially acceptable outlets for their artistic gifts.
oh wait, that makes too much sense. let’s just build more prisons. we already incarcerate at a higher per capita rate than most other countries…might as well add on to that. it’s the mark of a developed country to keep as many people as possible locked up.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
@ienjoylife, what if their gift is graffiti? While not socially acceptable in many places, it’s still a form of art that may be the most effective way for certain people to express themselves.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:12 am
There is a simple solution to the graffiti problem, and it need not be a burden on the taxpayers. The solution is condoned by the U.S. Supreme Court (1970).
December 14th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
ienjoylife you are a fool and an idiot. Graffiti vandals do not tag to express thier “artistic gifts”. Go visit one of the many graffiti forums on the internet. The reason these criminals tag is because they are COMMITTING A CRIME!. It is the excitement of almost getting caught is what drives them. Free walls and art programs only allow these criminals to network, practice and perpetuate the vandal culture.
Try to think with your mind rather than putting forward an emotional response; the later is what animals do.