Mesa family upping home security as burglaries are up in the area
MESA, Ariz. - Residents in Mesa have become victims of home burglaries, and although police have not tied them to the Scottsdale "dinner-time burglaries," they say there's a common theme.
Because of this, a Mesa family has taken "if you see something, say something" to a whole new level.
With an increase in home burglaries not only in Mesa, but across the entire Valley, the Toperzer family is making sure they’re catching every camera angle.
"I’m only armed with cameras, and that’s it, but that’s enough," Bill Toperzer said. He's lived in Mesa for 25 years.
The Mesa Police Department currently has nine active home burglary cases, saying several families were targeted while they were on vacation.
"They'll find any opportunity they can. When these things get that close to home, you get a little more heightened that the burglars are upping their game," Toperzer said.
He has four cameras on his property with plans to install five more. Each one of them will be commercial grade.
"They're full color. They're color at night, and they record here at the house. They don't go up to a cloud. They're right here, so I've got full control over the video," Toperzer said.
It’s not just one angle either. With back-to-back cameras, Toperzer catches every single person and car that comes down his street.
"If somebody comes by with a license plate that I think is suspicious or a vehicle that doesn't belong in this neighborhood, I've got them," he said.
In other areas of the Valley, burglars are cutting off people's Wi-Fi, which disables some cameras, but not Toperzer's.
"Mine's all hardware unless they start taking a hatchet to it, but there's going to be enough cameras. They're going to do an awful lot of work before I see who did it," he said.
He’s got a clear message for these burglars: "We’re watching you. Go somewhere else."
Toperzer's surveillance doesn’t stop there – he’s working to expand his coverage along the whole side and backyard of his home.