The Cincinnati Police Department is asking businesses and residents to register their security cameras to help fight crime.
Registering your camera would not give CPD direct access to the video feed. Instead, CPD would have a map of registered cameras so they can request specific clips if a crime is committed nearby.
"We can set a geo-fence several blocks, for instance, and say, 'Hey, at 3 a.m. there were thefts from autos on this block. Can you check your cameras? If you have anything, here's a link, please send the video,' " said Lt. Jennifer Mitsch. "And that video would go directly into our evidence vault in our records management system."
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Mitsch says CPD has been working on the program for several years and attended every community council meeting last summer to answer questions and concerns.
"Civil liberties, civil rights, privacy — it is at the top of what we respect," Mitsch said. "We are going to go by the permissions that whoever wants to participate gives us."
The program is expected to save officer time spent canvassing after a crime looking for video evidence.
"A lot of times, people don't want to be talking to the police out on their street, or have us knocking on those doors," Mitsch said. "They'll be able to reach out to us in ways that might be more comfortable for them."
Mitsch says whoever owns the video camera can revoke permission at any time. There’s also a second tier of the program where you can purchase a device that gives CPD direct access to the camera’s live feed. You can learn more about the program at ConnectCincinnati.org.
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The city is using a company called Fusus for camera registration. A second tier of the program allows anyone to purchase a separate device from Fusus. Once connected to the security camera, it can give CPD a live feed, either all the time or only during emergency situations like an active shooter. Those devices range in price from $350 to more than $7,000.
Mitsch says CPD will not utilize facial-recognition technology, but will use some limited artificial intelligence to sort video evidence; for example, analyzing video for a certain type of vehicle.
