A professional photographer who had just left for the summer in the Catskills nearly lost his most valuable equipment when an expensive camera bag was stolen while he was packing his car for the trip.

The theft happened as the photographer was loading his belongings into his vehicle. In that brief window, a passerby grabbed the camera bag which contained a professional camera and other essential equipment and slipped away unnoticed.

It wasn’t until the photographer arrived in the Catskills that he realized the camera bag was missing. He immediately contacted Shomrim for help.

Shomrim’s dedicated IT team worked tirelessly, reviewing footage camera by camera to trace the suspect’s movements through the neighborhood. Their persistence paid off when they tracked the suspect all the way to his residence. Shomrim volunteers then recovered the entire stolen camera bag with all the equipment still inside.

The photographer, who depends on the equipment for his work during the busy summer season, expressed heartfelt gratitude for Shomrim’s hard work and determination.

In light of this incident, Shomrim is urging the community to help strengthen neighborhood safety by connecting outdoor security cameras to the Shomrim network. Doing so makes it faster and easier to track suspects and recover stolen property.

For assistance, please contact the Shomrim office at 718-851-3927. For emergencies, call the hotline at 718-871-6666.