Jacksonville homeowner credits his talking security camera to deterring crime

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Six words scared off three men approaching Antwon Nolan’s car, just after midnight. He now credits his talking security system with deterring crime.

The family installed a Ring Spotlight camera above their driveway. It not only recorded the three men, but it also spoke to them, “Hi you are currently being recorded.”

“I look at the video, and I realize one guy was attempting to sneak up to my car door,” Nolan said. “I always lock the car doors. This particular night, I didn’t and my wallet was in there. The guy grabs the car door, and you hear ‘you’re being recorded,’ and all three guys take off.”

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Nolan moved to the Howard Run neighborhood with his wife and three kids in 2017. Over the years, he said neighbors began reporting car break-ins. In the last month, there were four within a mile of his home, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office crime mapping tool.

“If the camera had not said ‘you’re being recorded,’ and just started recording they would have broken in my car, easily,” Nolan said. “My neighbor across the street, someone broke into his car and stole his firearm and stole his wife’s purse.” That happened the same night, according to Nolan.

Despite spotting crimes and even claims of stopping it, the Federal Trade Commission charged the security camera company for allowing employees to “access consumer’s private videos and failing basic security protection.”

The company paid $5.8 million in consumer refunds. A court order filed in May requires Ring to delete data products and implement a privacy and security program.

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The company recommends avoiding the danger of hackers, frequently changing your password and enabling two-factor authentication.

Nolan said he believes the camera does more good than harm, deterring crime in his area. Now, the majority of his neighbors own home security cameras.

“It’s definitely a need,” Nolan said.

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