I ask because I got 4K video of a burglar's face and showed it to the cops, and they were like "what do you want us to do with this," and it made me question the entire value of security footage.
I was actually very surprised that the police seem to be actively investigating this. I expected they'd just take my report and file it away.
I think that the reason why they are taking this more seriously, particularly considering my monetary loss was relatively low, is because of the way the break in happened.
It was very violent. The burglar had tried breaking my door open with a crowbar (or similar tool), a power tool that the police think was a saws-all, and when those methods failed, just resorted to kicking the door repeatedly until the doorframe itself broke. I have no idea why he didn't just break a window instead of going to all that effort.
I believe the police interest is not really because of the theft, but because of the method of entry. It was more like a home invasion you see in the movies.
But that's all speculation. The cops tell me nothing, other than this was obviously not a random burglary. I was targeted specifically.
The burglar was covered head to toe, so the video doesn't provide for readily identifying him. But there were other things that the camera incidentally picked up that points a finger to a particular neighbor.
So, for me, the video did something very important: it clearly told me that however this all shakes out, it's too risky to stay where I am and I need to move. That knowledge alone was worth the surveillance system.
