Web cameras snap intruder

ANDREW GORRIE/The Dominion Post

IT REALLY WORKS: Jake Briggs watched via email as a man triggered the web cameras in his home. "I wasn't annoyed, I was more excited."

CAUGHT IN ACTION: The alleged burglar spotted a camera and peered into it, puzzled. He escaped over the back fence of the Taita property before police arrived.

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When a man broke into a Lower Hutt home, he probably didn't expect his crime to be broadcast live on the internet.

Jake Briggs, 33, set up remote, motion-triggered web-cameras in his Taita house about 18 months ago.

On Monday, the cameras proved their worth, capturing images as an alleged robber burgled his home.

Mr Briggs, a software engineer, was at work in central Wellington about 1.45pm when he received an email informing him the cameras had been triggered. When he opened the email, he watched live as the man allegedly stole two laptops, clothing and alcohol. He fled before police reached the scene.

"I was watching it happen ... It just popped up and said new email and I looked at it, and I'm like 'holy shit, there's a guy in my house'," he said.

It appeared the man had spotted a camera, and peered into it, looking perplexed. He then turned to face the wall – giving a clearer view of himself – before grabbing the gear and escaping over the back fence, Mr Briggs said.

"I wasn't annoyed, I was more excited. Honestly, when I set it up I never even dreamed that this would happen. The challenge of setting it up was enough to make me set it up."

He called 111 and explained what was happening to a bemused operator. Police reached the scene within 10 minutes but the alleged robber had left.

Mr Briggs has now turned to social networking to solve the crime. He posted the images, which clearly show a man wearing a baseball cap, on Twitter with a caption asking for information on his identity.

Colleague John Weaver, 27, watched Mr Briggs' reaction as the emails arrived.

"It was almost that of disbelief. He sort of turned to me and said, `What number should I call if ... somebody's in my house."'

"I ran around to his desk and ... he was scrolling through these emails and we were watching this guy go through his lounge."

Mr Weaver has also posted the images on his Twitter account.

Constable Daniel Turner of Lower Hutt was impressed with Mr Briggs' ingenuity and the security setup. "I reckon it's a bloody good idea," he said, adding that the quality was better than more expensive CCTV systems.

Police are wanting to speak to the man seen in the footage about the burglary.

Anyone with information should contact Lower Hutt police on 04 560 2600.

JAKE BRIGG'S SECURITY SYSTEM

A standard laptop and webcams.

The web cameras are programmed to turn off and on at set times – after Jake Briggs and his partner leave the house and before they return.

The software, Motion, prompts the cameras to shoot a continuous series of images.

When a certain amount of motion was detected between photo frames, an email alert was sent to his inbox with an accompanying photograph.

Emails containing still images were continuously sent and Mr Briggs was able to watch the footage live over the internet.

- © Fairfax NZ News