The Walls Have Eyes

THOUSAND OAKS — They look like ordinary gifts--a teddy bear, a baseball cap, a smoke detector, a clock.

But each item contains a unique feature--a hidden camera the size of a Tootsie Roll.

Jason Allami regularly sells these “nanny cams” at his store in Thousand Oaks, which specializes in such items as hidden cameras, bugging devices and microphones. He’s predicting a rise in sales and rentals at his SPI store in the wake of Monday’s well-publicized conviction of a nanny for abusing a 17-month-old local boy.

His forecast is more than optimism. It’s based on experience.

“Any time there is an incident reported on TV or in the newspapers, I get a lot of calls,” Allami said.

Videotaped images from the recent case show the woman bopping the toddler on the head as he eats. The clips would be difficult viewing for almost anyone, but they evoke particular concern from people with kids in child care.

That case, coupled with a string of similar incidents, has brought on a wave of anxiety among parents. Many are deciding they can’t trust references and interviews.

They’re going to the videotape.

Law enforcement experts, child-care advocates and detective agencies call it a growing field, one that saves them time and effort digging up cases based on allegations alone.

“It’s very valuable evidence,” said Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Sparks, who handled the Thousand Oaks case. He anticipates that more cases will come to light now that prosecutors have used the tapes successfully in court.

Experts say the recent rash of cases is a result of the advanced technology, including the tiny, easily concealed cameras.

In addition to the Thousand Oaks case, an Orange County woman was arraigned this month on charges of child endangerment after the parents found second-degree burns on their 9-month-old girl. A Canoga Park woman was sentenced to 45 days on a Caltrans crew for abusing a 7-month-old in January. Cameras recorded the incidents in both cases.

Nanny cams have been around for the past 10 years, but it’s only in the last two years that they have grown in use, said Phil Wolvek, owner of the Privacy Connection in Woodland Hills, which sells surveillance cameras to stressed and suspicious parents.

“When we started the business about 18 years ago, all the equipment was big and obtrusive,” Wolvek said. But in the past several years, the cameras have become smaller and cheaper.

And demand has increased.

*

Wolvek, who has an engineering department that builds the camera systems on site, said he’s always looking to refine them. His latest offering is a wireless camera so small that it can be placed in a watch. He is now installing the tiny cameras, which transmit a signal back to a receiver attached to a remote TV and VCR, in such everyday items as tissue boxes and books.

The technology has also given rise to a boomlet in new businesses that are essentially private investigators specializing in child-care matters.

With names like KinderWatch, Family Watch and Baby’s Private Eye, the businesses set up recording equipment in the home, usually for several days, handling all the details from setup to breakdown, gathering several hours of videotape in the process.

Not everyone is pleased with the trend.

*

“Families need to know what’s going on in their home. And there are a lot of different ways to go about doing that,” said Wendy Sachs, president of the 700-member International Nanny Assn., in a June interview with the Washington Post. “But if you’re trusting someone with your children, then there’s got to be a certain level of respect.”

Sachs recommended checking a nanny’s references thoroughly and spending some time in the house with her.

Ilene Freeman, owner of NanaCare, a registered Thousand Oaks agency, said she is hearing of more and more parents using cameras to get a status check when they are away from home.

“I think it’s a great idea. But you need to make the nanny aware,” she said.

Two other Conejo Valley nanny agencies declined to be interviewed.

Mercedes Lopez, a supervisor at Bettye Blue Domestic Employment Agency in Encino, said her nannies realize there may be cameras in a home, though they never know for sure.

“We don’t know which [clients use them]. They don’t want people to know,” Lopez said.

While none of her nannies, who are placed in homes nationwide, have been convicted of crimes, occasionally one will be taped talking on the phone too much, watching TV or just not paying enough attention.

“We just find them another nanny,” Lopez said, adding that the cameras are commonplace in wealthy areas.

Experts say people probably don’t need to invest in a surveillance system, which starts at $450 and could cost as much as $5,000, unless they have real suspicions.

Wolvek offers these tips: “I would look for any bruises on the child. I would look for any personality changes, if he’s not happy or not eating. Maybe the nanny said, ‘Don’t say anything.’ If things are out of place. Anything out of the normal.”

*

SPI shopkeeper Allami, who has a live-in watch his 1 1/2-year-old daughter, has a camera in his San Fernando Valley home too. But unlike most of his customers, who want the element of surprise, he keeps his large camera out in the open as a deterrent, much like a department store camera.

“I do not believe in putting covert cameras. I have a big camera in the middle of the house. She knows it’s there. I turn it on once a month. I don’t want her to be uncomfortable,” he said.

Correspondent Dawn Hobbs contributed to this story.