Washington State Police Department Recruit Private Surveillance Cameras to Fight Crime

Renton Police are asking the public to register their surveillance cameras to increase the likelihood of solved crimes.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Dec 19, 2018

Surveillance images have helped investigators identify and capture crime suspects for years. Now, the Renton Police Department is asking residents to register their private surveillance cameras to help aid in the likelihood of solved crimes in the area.

The initiative, called Camera Registration Program, was launched last Thursday and already 40 homeowners and business owners have signed up. 

Sgt. Christy Mathrews told the local news station that the partnership was the idea of the department's Community Programs Division. Since surveillance footage is often obtained by officers going door-to-door, the division thought it wise to come up with a solution that helps officers know which door to knock on.

Now, the locations of homes and businesses that register with the program appear as blue dots on a satellite map of Renton. 

The program is purely volunteer-only and does not allow police officers to see images in real time. 

It simply lets investigators know a camera is in the area and that its owner is willing to cooperate with police officers. Those officers can then “log in from their cars and see there are three houses in this area, and the suspect fled this way, so maybe these three cameras will show something,” Mathews explained.