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Last summer Gayle Kiser set up what's known as a "game camera" to capture pictures of a bear on her Lexington-area property.
"I wanted to see if he was still poking around," she said. "I wasn't even looking for a human being."
But she found one.
Kiser checked the images on the camera after thieves last fall began raiding her property. She was hit by a half-dozen thefts involving losses of metal, a riding lawnmower, a generator and several chickens from her barn. One of the time-stamped images on the camera's memory card showed the back of a man in her driveway around 3 a.m. The image wasn't clear enough to identify a suspect, but it gave her a much better idea of what was going on around her house while she was away or sleeping.
"It really creeped me out," Kiser said.
Game cameras like the one Kiser used are motion-activated and use infrared sensors to capture images of wildlife, even in the dark. They're popular among hunters for scouting and tracking game. But Kiser and other property owners are finding that the cameras also are good security tools. They are battery-operated and self-contained, so they can simply be hung on a fence post, tree or the side of a barn without any wiring.
Law enforcement officials are encouraging property owners to use the cameras. In recent months, a deputy has suggested that people use them to gather evidence against prowlers, metal thieves and trespassing neighbors who are up to no good.
Darin Sparks, who works in the hunting gear department at Bob's Sporting Goods in downtown Longview, said 90 percent of the game cameras sold by the store are now used for security. The store's best-seller costs $200 and has a battery such as canon NB-1L battery , canon NB-2L battery , canon BP-511 battery , canon NB-5L battery , canon NB-4L battery , canon NB-5H battery , nikon CR-V3 battery , nikon EN-EL2 battery , Olympus FE-250 battery , Fujifilm NP-40 battery , Samsung VP-MS12 battery , Sharp VR-BL1 battery that will last up to a year, he said. More expensive models will even send digital images straight to a cellphone, Sparks said.
Also rising in use are inexpensive security cameras that send a live video feed to the Internet. The cameras allow people to monitor their homes, or review footage, from their computers or cell phones. Those cameras cost between about $75 and a few hundred dollars.
"We're starting to see more and more of it," said Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson, who called installing the cameras "a smart thing to do."
"Any kind of security for a person's home or business is a good thing. With video now being as easy as it is to come by, it's a great crime-prevention tool and it's a great investigation tool," Nelson said.
Jeff Hahn, 36, of Kalama said he used a game camera, which he had used for hunting, to capture images of a local teenager's truck peeling out in Hahn's private drive. Hahn said he spoke with the boy and the reckless driving stopped.
"I'd rather have (the cameras) in the woods taking pictures of elk rather than taking pictures of a guy speeding in my driveway," Hahn said. Still, he said, it was a cheap and easy way to stop a neighborhood problem.
Longview police Sgt. John Reeves said he's not surprised game cameras are increasing in popularity. But, he said, they have their limitations as a security or law enforcement tool.
"Security cameras can be a great tool," he said, "but it comes down to whether or not it captures a good enough picture with detail to identify a suspect."