Police Departments Across Nation Ask Citizens to Register Security Cameras

Officers will still have to get permission to view the footage, which they say can not only help to fight crime but assist them with tracking down missing people.

• By Sherelle Black
• Sep 12, 2019

Police departments across the country are asking its residents and businesses to aid them in helping to fight crime by registering their security cameras and alarms.

The Marietta Daily Journal reported the Kennesaw Police Department in Georgia is asking community members to take advantage of their free registration system.

“Kennesaw Community Watch allows our citizens and businesses free registration for camera and security alarm systems with the police department,” Kennesaw Police Chief Bill Westenberger told the Journal. “In keeping with our intentional efforts to create partnerships with our community, we are excited to announce a new program.”

Kennesaw Police Officer Scott Luther told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the system will help officers avoid having to go door-to-door looking for residents who may have footage of a crime.

“This will definitely cut that time down a lot,” Luther said of the registry. “We hope that everybody who has cameras will register them to give us a little bit of an extra investigative tool.”

The Lansing Police Department in Michigan is also asking its community members to do the same under its Security Camera Registry and Mapping (S.C.R.A.M) initiative. 

The LPD’s website said the system will not allow officers to view what cameras are recording, but provides the location of cameras.

Officers will still have to get permission to view the footage, which they say can not only help to fight crime but assist them with tracking down missing people.

Police departments in Fort Worth, Little Elm and Plano, which are all located in Texas, have also asked their community to register their security cameras.

The West Palm Beach Police Department in Florida, who has seen a 50 percent decrease in homicides year over year, according to WPTV, is also asking residents to contribute to their security camera initiative.