Colorado couple finds peephole reversed in Fla. hotel... A trip to Florida was supposed to be filled with rest and relaxation. But it was more infuriating for a Highlands Ranch couple. Aaron and Amy Cali found a peephole in their room had been reversed. So people on the outside could look inside their room.
The couple ended a Caribbean cruise on Valentine's night at a Quality Inn in Hollywood, Fla. The next morning, Amy got a disturbing
surprise. "I noticed a light coming from the hotel door about 3 feet up. I realized it was a peephole. I tried looking out of it and didn't see anything," says Amy. So, she went outside and looked in. "You could see the entire hotel room, the bed, bathroom. You could see the entire room. Everything," she said. "We don't know if photos were taken. We don't know if videos were taken. We don't know who was looking, how many were looking." (more, with video)
Thoughts...
Hotel door peepholes are mandated by law. This door had two; one at regular height, and lower one three feet from the ground (ADA compliant for people in wheelchairs). The door opened onto an outside shared walkway – not a very safe area to sit and peep.
More likely, a mini wireless spycam was temporarily affixed to the door, with the receiver in another hotel room, or parked car. There, viewing / recording could be accomplished safely.
Additional police work we would like see...
• Check all other doors for reversed peepholes.
• If more than one is reversed, consider this a for-profit, organized crime.
• Match the rooms against customer records. Look for a pattern. The same person might have rented each room once, just to reverse the peepholes.
• Look for 'regular' customers. Are their rooms usually near the the 'reversed' rooms?
• Look for connections between the night managers / staff with any suspicious names found.
• Background check night managers / staff.
• Take a peephole photo. Try to match it with Internet voyeur site photos / movies. If a match is found, many more leads will open up.
• Check other hotels in the area for similar problems.
Hotels in the Hollywood, Florida area cater to young couples visiting on vacation, school breaks and cruise ships. The area is a rich target for pornography manufacturers. It is unlikely this is an isolated incident.
Still think this is an isolated incident?
University of Georgia
...every dorm room is equipped with a peephole in order to provide extra security and precaution for every student.
Yet, the extra security measure has been turned into a practical joke as a peculiar trend circulates through the residence halls - reversing peepholes so their principle function is to peer in on people, rather than allowing residents to peek out.
"I'm not quite sure who started it, but someone said, 'Hey, look in here,' so I did and I saw the people inside," said Ileana Figueroa, a freshman from Augusta residing in Lipscomb Hall in an interview last week.
"The peepholes are pretty easy to unscrew - all you have to do is have the door open," Figueroa said. "Everyone in our hall is pretty close so anything like this is just a joke."
Sam White and his roommate Peri Finch, who both reside in Lipscomb Hall, are victims of the peephole tampering trend... (more)
P.S. "Kramer and Newman did it in a Seinfeld episode so they could check to make sure no one was in their apartments waiting to jump them." ~Tim
