Village Nearing Security Camera Purchase for Metra Lot

Following a string of car-part thefts in the Metra commuter lot in New Lenox, could buy a security camera system for about $14,000.

During a public safety committee meeting last week, employees of the met with village trustees to talk about the options and pricing for the cameras, which would serve as much of a purpose of making residents feel safe as they would to deter crime.

"These cameras don’t catch criminals. We could hope to catch a license plate and get some good, solid information," Police Chief Bob Sterba said. "It would certainly have the added advantage of making the lot users feel more safe.”

Sterba said the influx of thefts, mostly of catalytic converters and hub caps, was sporadic, making it even more difficult to catch the criminals. But he believes the people responsible for many of the crimes might have been caught.

Thieves were caught in Oak Forest, Sterba said, and tests are being run on their tools to see if any residue matches impacted vehicles from New Lenox. Police didn't have any further information about the arrestees.

"We’re reasonably sure it’s the same people," Sterba said. "I think these thefts have stopped, but it just shows you how two dedicated thieves can wreak havoc across two counties."

That's why the village wants to try and prevent something like this from happening in the future—or at least make it easier to catch the culprits. To help pay for the cameras, along with other upgrades to the Metra lot, the daily $1 parking fee could be increased.

Deputy Chief Bob Pawlisz researched the department's options, and after a presentation to the committee the consensus recommendation appeared to be a portable system that would cost $13,800. This would pay for four total cameras, two on each unit, that would mostly watch the entrances and exits.

"If they're portable, we have options," Pawlisz said. "We can move them to another problem area if we have, say, graffiti somewhere."

The cameras would record to a DVR set up in the police station and the video would be reviewed after an incidnt is reported. The New Lenox committee liked this option over another that Mokena recently installed, which involved stationary cameras that cost $28,000.

The village is still considering options, but Sterba said the cameras could possibly be installed sometime in November.