KEYE’s 10 p.m. news broadcast tonight will feature a live report and video of a recent burglary in Burleson Heights.

Two surveillance cameras captured video of a man and a vehicle involved in a burglary just after 4 p.m. on July 12. The green SUV has a brush guard on the front and a long cargo area, and is seen driving past the home twice before stopping nearby. An accomplice then drives it up to the house while the burglar breaks in.

Edited to show the highlights, the video is a revealing look at how criminals cruise through neighborhoods and knock on doors as they target a home for a burglary.

Although Burleson Heights typically has a low burglary rate, it has not been immune to property crime that has been on the increase throughout Southeast Austin neighborhoods this summer.

Residents have been taking an active role in preventing and reporting crime, and this is the third incident in two weeks in which residents videotaped or photographed criminal activity or an attempt:

• One resident prevented a crime by circling the block and returning to check on suspicious activity, taking a photo of the blue Toyota pickup involved (Texas license plates 69B-KV6, tinted windows, white bed cover and after-market rims), and quickly reporting the incident to police and neighbors. A man and woman who had approached a house quickly got back in the truck and left when they saw that they were being watched.
• Another resident caught video of two young men entering a vehicle in the driveway, part of a nightlong spree that resulted in the theft of several power tools, GPS systems and two cars, most of which were recovered within hours.
• A neighbor in the film industry edited and posted video of the July 12 burglary on YouTube, and a group of writers and translators created bilingual posters featuring stills from the video to ecourage tips to police and warn criminals that they’re being watched in the neighborhood.

You can make a difference, too. Take a second look any time you see anything suspicious, and call 911 to report it. Use our message boards to quickly share information with your neighbors.

If you’re considering a surveillance system for your home, watch a July 17 KXAN report on homeowners using motion-activated wildlife cameras as an inexpensive and portable alternative to video surveillance.

And if you recognize the vehicle or person in this video, please notify police by calling 911 or 311. Callers can remain anonymous.

Watch the KEYE report here.

UPDATE: Thanks in large part to the homeowners’ video, a suspect was arrested about 2 1/2 months after the segment aired on KEYE.