New Orleans, La. - Josh Murphey was shocked when he became a victim of burglary in his quiet Algiers neighborhood.
"After that, you just expect that it's not going to happen again.
Murphey, though, wasn't so lucky. It wasn't long before the burglar struck again.
"The suspect came into the yard and broke into the shed. He stole a couple of tools and then came out of the front, walked into the street and just happened to go in front of a neighbors house who had a Project NOLA camera," says Murphey
The camera that captured the video of the suspect is just one of now, 250 Project NOLA cameras set up across New Orleans.
Bryan Lagarde, a former NOPD officer who investigated crime cases for former D.A. Harry Connick, is the founder of the non-profit organization Project NOLA.
His organization, launched three years ago, helps citizens and business owners get the cameras at a fraction of the cost.
"On an average day, we usually receive between one and two requests from NOPD detectives. The most we've ever taken is 8 requests in a single day involving crimes that recently happened," says Lagarde
Lagarde says besides just providing video, Project NOLA will do the extensive search needed to find exactly what the NOPD is looking for.
"We're actually doing the leg work of searching through hours of video across many different cameras looking for that particular event that they need," says Lagarde
In 2010, the city's crime camera system was shut down because the city says it was poorly set up and maintained and it delivered few results.
The city, though, is looking at the potential for an effective public crime camera network to be created next year.
