JAMES CITY COUNTY — James City County Police are asking the public to consider joining forces with them by registering home security cameras in an effort to boost crime prevention.
The Security Camera Registration Program is a completely voluntary program run by the James City County Police. Those with security cameras can provide their address, email, and model of camera to the police so the department can build a confidential list of camera locations to assist in investigations.
Jeremy Morris, who researched the program’s success in other jurisdictions before bringing it up to department leadership, believes that this program will help keep the James City County community safe.
“I did a year in investigations while I was recovering from knee surgery, and we ran into a lot of successes and failures with being able to get video footage. I did research into it and looked at comments that other jurisdictions provided and thought it might be a good thing for our community,” Morris explained.
For residents who participate, the program is 100% voluntary. Camera locations are stored confidentially and used only for investigations. Residents can choose if, when, and what footage to share with the department and can remain anonymous when declining to assist.
Morris also added that there is no live access to any camera and no automatic video sharing. The department cannot monitor or view footage without the consent of the homeowner, and requests for footage will only be made through email.
Morris says that a huge part of the process has been ensuring proper privacy protection for citizens participating in the program.
“We are not using this program to spy on you in your own home. We took a long time to identify ways that we can protect the program participants and their privacy. That’s why we only ask for the bare minimum of information,” Morris explained.
Once registered, Morris will plot the camera on a map that is only accessible to officers and investigators. When a crime happens in a particular area, the officer responding can pull up the camera map and send an email request to all camera owners in the vicinity of the crime. Residents can then decide to share or decline to share their camera footage for the investigation.
When speaking with other jurisdictions, Morris noted that many informed him that the camera program is highly effective in solving burglaries, thefts, porch pirate incidents, and vehicle crimes. He also learned that the program increases public trust in the department and makes a large difference in closing cases.
According to Morris, the program will allow investigators to improve overall case timelines and provide immediate direction for locating video evidence.
“We can’t be everywhere all at once. A lot of the information we use to solve crimes comes from the community itself. We’re trying to use technology to help aid that,” Morris said.
As the program grows in the future, Morris hopes to be able to extend the security camera registration to local businesses.
Those interested in participating in the security camera registration program can email their email, address, and camera model to PD_CommServices@jamescitycountyva.gov to sign up.