Half a dozen robberies in a month's time in the QC, and police are still looking for the people responsible.
Stores, banks and gas stations from Bettendorf and Davenport to right across the river in Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Milan.
It's unclear if any are related. Most of the suspects are still on the loose. Surveillance photos may be to blame for that. When it comes to surveillance -- it's tough to tell who's in these photos for both the public and police.
"Some of the problems we're seeing is some of this stuff is so antiquated we're not even able to play it on the software that we own," Rock Island County Sheriff Jeff Boyd says, "What used to be good 10-15 years ago, isn't good now."
Experts at Per Mar Security tell TV6 some businesses still record security on tape. More sophisticated security systems can be a tough investment, some can run from $300 or more, but more security companies are offering everything from basic home security to remote systems with live streaming online and on your phone or tablet.
"The reliability and picture quality is so much better today, there's really no advantage to go backwards even from a cost perspective," Brad Tolliver of Per Mar Security says.
The problem is security technology is constantly changing. Systems purchased six months to a year ago are often already out of date.
"It's fluid, more and more going to IP format and that adds a lot of flexibility," Tolliver says.
Experts estimate about 40 percent of customers don't keep up with that pace, something they could regret later.
"There's a lot of customers, they put it in it works, and they don't upgrade it unless they need to," Tolliver says.
Though unclear pictures won't stop police, it doesn't help either, so they say it's an important investment to make if you can.
"It doesn't make it impossible, we're still going to investigate, we're still going to go after it and try to figure it out," Sheriff Boyd says, "But it does make our job a little bit more difficult."
"Things change," Tolliver says, "Change with the times, and you're better to be prepared than wish you were afterwards."
