Unfortunately, crimes happen in our community every day. In today’s paper, there are stories about countless car break-ins at area apartment complexes, where the alleged suspects took valuable item after valuable item. In these cases, the men arrested were caught due to vigilant residents, who saw them in the act and called police. However, that’s far from the norm.

Regardless of the type of crime, law enforcement generally arrives after it’s arrived, and the details are often scarce. Detectives spend their days knocking on doors, calling leads and trying to determine what happened.

And one of the biggest questions they ask is whether someone has a camera set up, which may have caught the crime taking place or filmed a look at the suspect.

That’s why the LaGrange Police Department’s new initiative, which was announced earlier this month, is so encouraging. The LPD is allowing locals to register their own personal security cameras, just in case a crime occurs in that area.

The LaGrange Police Department will have no control over the cameras and can’t see anything. However, if a crime does occur near the camera’s range, officers will know a camera is located there and may ask if there’s any footage that can be used.

Police work has often become heavily dependent on technology, and security cameras are a real help in solving crimes. We encourage residents with security cameras to sign up for this program.

It might help the LPD solve a case near your property in the future.