If someone decides to steal a pair of shoes from Marden’s, or walk out of the Brewer Wal-Mart Supercenter with a cart full of items, the "Star Witness" will be there to help police catch them.

The Brewer Police Department has received two hi-tech computers in the last week, one loaded with Star Witness software that will help with isolating and enhancing videos, including those on cruisers and those from store surveillance tapes. The second computer system will allow police to do an in-depth search of a suspect’s computer hard drive.

"A lot of stores have video surveillance equipment, but … because of quality [of the video] or camera movement, you can see somebody in the video, but can’t [identify] who they are," Detective Sgt. Jay Munson said Monday while demonstrating the new systems.

He used a video from a high speed chase to illustrate how the system works. At first glance, the video was so shaky it was hard to make out any details, but after Munson applied a few filters, the license plate was clearly visible.

The new Star Witness software, made by Signalscape Inc., allows investigators to enhance and sharpen photos or videos, to stabilize and increase the size of images and do a number of other applications. The software can even make items in a completely dark room visible, Munson said.

"This system was actually used on [the television crime drama] NCIS," he said.

The second computer, called a Forensic Computer, is specifically made for video forensics, and can be used to check a suspect’s computer hard drive to see if they are involved in criminal activities.

"We do a lot of drug search warrants, and what we’re finding is more and more drug dealers are using technology," Munson said. "Instead of keeping notes, they’re using computers" to keep track of everything from who owes them money to who buys certain drugs.

This Forensic Computer also will be used to search for child pornography, during missing person cases and to view suspect e-mails, he said.

"We’re able to image a hard drive … and then search the hard drive for what we’re looking for: videos, photos, word documents, spreadsheets," Munson said. "That program will also break encryptions, so you can break open passwords."

And finding "hidden" files, those with changed formats, or those that have been erased or deleted, is another specialty of the Forensic Computer’s preloaded software, Capt. Jason Moffitt added.

"It’s seriously impressive forensic equipment," he said.

The Star Witness, which arrived on Monday, was paid for through a $30,000 U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant under the Video Community Equipment Direct Assistance Program. The Forensic Computer, which arrived last week, was paid for by a nearly $13,000 Office of National Drug Control Policy grant. Including training, the total amount given to the department for both systems is around $45,000.

The new computer systems are excellent tools, but the department will continue to work with the Maine Computer Crime Taskforce, based at the police academy in Vassalboro, because "they really know their stuff," Moffitt said.

Munson, who has been taking classes to learn about computer police work for more than two years, traveled two weeks ago to Herndon, Va., for three days of training on the Forensic Computer, and last week was sent to Chicago for two days of training with the Star Witness.

"It [the training] barely begins to scratch the surface of what [the systems] can do," he said, adding his real education begins now with hands-on experience.

When the detective returned from Chicago last week, there already were three cases waiting for him, Moffitt said.

"It will make our job a lot easier," he said. "This is going to be awesome."