The seurity video tape that incriminated Aaron Hernandez — shot from his own security system

If your car has ever been broken into or vandalized, you know that immediate sense of vulnerability and violation that hits your gut. While you’re trying to figure what’s missing, what’s broken and why somebody would target you, your heart pounds with anger and your soul burns for retribution. Perhaps you have an alarm, which apparently didn’t do a thing other than annoy the neighbors.

And don’t be like this guy either…

Was it an ex-lover, a teenage punk out having fun, someone you’ve pissed off or was it a crack head looking for some money and valuables?

And sometimes the perps intentions are more obvious…

The list of your real or potential enemies reels off in your head, and you realize that a good portion of humanity may have a beef with you. Your only chance is to get them before they strike again. You call the police and they come and say, “Ugh, too bad. Your bad for any myriad reasons — for parking here or for having a nice car or for not being more careful or for not voting for the last tax override to put more cops on the street. I’ll log it and we’ll let you know if we find someone responsible or find your belongings. Good luck.” They leave 4 minutes later as they have better things to do. You are left alone with your trashed car, anger and paranoia.

According to CNN, you wouldn’t be alone. In an article on tips to prevent car break-ins, they report that each year, $1.255 billion in personal items and accessories are stolen from vehicles in about 1.85 million thefts. If you’ve never had your car broken into, just wait.

Caught by adjacent car camera

Locking your doors, closing your windows, hiding your valuables, having an alarm, parking it in a well lit area, and leaving a boa constrictor on the front seat improve your odds, but probably only postpone the inevitable. Without evidence the police can’t really do much, and it’s usually not worth their time, effort and resources in extracting forensic evidence such as fingerprints left at the scene. In an ABC World News segment, every 43 seconds a car is stolen in the United States, which is about a million vehicles a year. Watch the confessions of a car thief on how easy it is to steal a car in about 60 seconds

If you could only catch them in the act, record their actions, get a glimpse of their identity, then maybe, just maybe, you may be able to catch them with the hopes to bringing them to justice. So, what about all those dashcam videos from Russia on YouTube, Facebook and the news capturing shocking incidents like the footage of a tractor-trailer truck swerving to miss hitting a car or a motorcycle going in and out of traffic and smashing over the hood of a car projecting the idiot into on-coming traffic? At first these cameras were used in emergency vehicles, now we’re seeing the general public using them to record all of life’s fun activities while in a car.

Today, vehicle cameras can be used to catch thieves in the act. In an ozy.com article by Simon Cohen, systems such as LyfeLens are essentially spy systems for vehicles. LyfeLens comes with two cameras facing in and out, and a microphone that continuously records, whether you are in the car or not, and uploads this footage to the cloud. With its ability to connect to the internet, this means you can access the cameras remotely. With the system available for $299 and data plans between $20 and $30 per month, this doesn’t seem all that bad when considering the benefits of simply handing over the data to police if your car was broken into or stolen.

However, Cohen raises several issues. According to LyfeLens, the system can send you notifications such as when someone is driving over the speed limit and it also tracks the location of the vehicle. If you let somebody borrow your car, where is their privacy? Who cares? Don’t borrow my car then!

Here is where privacy issues get interesting. Do you have the right to know what is going on in your car? Is it legal if people in the car don’t know they are being recorded? Where do wiretap laws come into play? Know your state’s law when it comes to camera use, many states expressly ban the use of hidden cameras in places where a person might have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Many car cameras are much more subtle in their presence

Considering that the cameras can be accessed via the internet, and large amounts of data of your driving is stored in the cloud — what are the implications if someone were to hack into your system? Would the information be admissible in court if it were leaked to the police. They could watch you while you’re driving, see who you hang out with, monitor where you’ve been, who you’ve been in the back seat with, where you shop and could share or release this information to anyone who wanted it. Never mind the legal issues, are the use of dashcams morally acceptable? The use of them being used with blackmail or other malicious intent is certainly not out of the question. While you are trying to catch the criminal who keeps breaking into your car, a cyber criminal can eavesdropping on every conversation you’ve had in your car and probably knows more about where you’ve been than you can remember! Law enforcement could request and receive a warrant for your vehicles camera data and use whatever they find there if it constitutes a crime.

In society, privacy is a value that we all expect and demand. With today’s technologies of traffic cams, car dashcams, home or business security cameras, etc. places of privacy keep shrinking. It is likely if you grab a cup of coffee in an urban area or major city, you are being captured via a number of cameras. Like the benefits of other surveillance cameras, car cameras certainly have the potential in deterring or capturing criminals in the act of breaking into or stealing your car. Say Cheese Jackass! However, remember that criminals aren’t the only thing being recorded — inside and outside the car.