Rhode Island

Thieves Drive Off With $80,000 Camera Meant to Catch Speeders in Providence

Police in Providence, Rhode Island are searching for the thieves who drove off with a new camera used to catch speeding drivers.

Authorities said surveillance video from a nearby building caught two people unbolting the $80,000 camera on Peace Street days after it was installed. The thieves then strapped it to the bed of a dark-colored Dodge pickup truck and drove away with it.

Police told WJAR-TV that it was one of five cameras that have been installed in the city. The cameras are about four feet high and are bolted to the ground.

Gilbert Paulino, who lives down the street, told WJAR-TV that she saw the camera being installed and then noticed it disappeared.

"I noticed it was gone but I thought they put it some place else, like, they hid it so people wouldn't see it," Paulino said.

Police said while the thieves were taking the camera, they even held up traffic.

The mayor's office said Conduent Solutions, the company that the city contracts with to operate the cameras, is responsible for replacing the stolen camera.

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