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Being somewhat involved in deployment of cameras I can tell you that is a giant no-no in the commercial space. By posting a sign you are creating the illusion of security. If there is no actual camera, and something bad happens, then you end up on the hook for creating the illusion of a safe environment.

a couple of fake cameras with blinking led’s will fix that.

Get your self a couple of spring guns.

You could throw up a couple of fake security guard silhouettes just to complete the farce.

Just because I am essentially a “not nice” person, and definitely not a trusting soul, something occurred to me.

Your thief/thieves are going for high end goods, not typically sought by run of the mill thieves. And in fact are ignoring items that would be quicker and safer to turn. They would have to have a certain knowledge of collectibles of whatever type are being stolen. Not a common thing in the world of petty thievery.

Betting across oceans is not easy, but it might be worth a wager that in your small village, a) the thief is someone who may have been at the meeting where the police handed out the Potemkin security stickers, or b) they know someone at that meeting where they were handed out [and therefore the whole story], or c) who got the stickers handed out by the Farm Watch and therefore know the whole bloody story.

This is not going to work.

Y’all don’t need to be Arthur Conan Doyle to figure that out.

+10 Subotai Bahadur – That the burglar takes collectibles is very significant. The burglar is almost certainly known to you, and again almost certainly knows all about the sticker ruse. That ruse is stupid, and reflects a cook-book LEO approach utterly devoid of any awareness that your situation does not fit the cook-book circumstances.

You’ve got the old and difficult problem of having within your circle of friends, acquaintances, and neighbors someone you cannot trust, but appears trustworthy.

Good luck.

Law Enforcement handouts are like pacifiers for babies. It shuts them up for a time.

Here, have a lollipop.

Holy crap. This is a real life example of a Don Martin cartoon in Mad Magazine, oh, 50 years ago. [Reconstructing from half-century old memories:] It shows a pedestrian talking with a policeman standing next to a sign cautioning motorists about their speed and saying that radar equipment was in use. The pedestrian asks, “Wasn’t that expensive?” The cop: “No, about $30.” Ped: “Wow! How did you get radar equipment for $30?” Cop: “What radar equipment? We just put up a sign.”

If they’re gonna rely on bullshit, how about signs that say something like,

“Armed Security – Use of Deadly Force Authorized”

Bet that would go over well.

Yeah, we have our suspicions. Particularly about one of those two robberies.

Where I am, though it absurdly low crime, almost every house has an ADT or other security company sign out front. Most homes actually have active security with these companies, but others, because of moves and whatnot, do not but still have the signs. An alleged perpetrator therefore has no idea whose is real, and whose is not, so would target a house with no sign.

Thus in the same way the stickers are only smart if there are real cameras (or convincing dummies) put up in some places so that the alleged perpetrators would not know which are legit. Stickers with no cameras (or convincing dummies) is idiotic.

Collectibles? Like maybe a silver cow creamer, perhaps?

I may have a lead or two in that case.

Dummy signs…yeah, that’s gonna work.

Apart from the monetary loss, collectibles often have far greater sentimental worth to the collector…often it takes years to complete a collection…plus knowing someone is entering your homes is very unsettling. Maybe they aren’t interested in the rest of your stuff but they know someone who is.

Actually Wifi enabled surveillance cameras aren’t expensive nowadays…think nanny cams. If this is an insider all the village need do is setup one or two and you’ll know for sure. If you tell everyone the thefts will stop, if not you’ll catch the perp.

The Spousal Unit’s hobby is auto restoration and he rents a small secure commercial space in a friendly live/work complex where everyone watches each other’s backs. When a few expensive hand tools suddenly went walkabout…he had his suspicions too…he installed a surveillance camera inside above the door and posted a sign. Problem solved and the deadbeat son of another tenant came around no more.

Anyhoo…I digress

D-link has a couple cameras under $100, one for $42.99 on Amazon USA. We got the $69 one that tilts and pans…easy peasy to set up too…load the software on a computer/tablet/phone of your choice, the unit finds your wifi and you log in.

Here’s a link (no pun intended):

http://www.dlink.com/uk/en/home-solutions/view/network-cameras/dcs-932l-day-night-cloud-camera