these resources without taking on the costs of purchasing and maintaining these devices.
Because participation in a camera registry program is voluntary, police can give camera
owners the choice to provide access on terms they are comfortable with. If there is an
ongoing concern about safety in a particular area, camera owners may wish to give live
access to online camera feeds. In other cases, the agreement could be to permit access to
video evidence by request, on an as-needed basis.
5 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY CAMERA REGISTRY PROGRAM
PAIR A COMMUNITY CAMERA REGISTRY PROGRAM WITH A DIGITAL EVIDENCE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
There will never be a substitute for the good ol' "sneakernet" style of face-to-face policework
for bagging and tagging evidence at a crime scene. But when it comes to collecting video
evidence, the sneakernet is no match for a cloud-based digital evidence management system
(DEMS).
Instead of driving down to the scene with a jump drive, manually transferring the le and
uploading it to a computer back at the station, investigators can securely request recordings
via e-mail. Ocers can send the request for data and receive digitally authenticated copies
that can be easily shared with partner agencies or attorneys who are working on the case.
[Download: How to buy evidence management products eBook]
DEMS are also useful for managing citizen-submitted evidence and tip lines. Police
departments can set up a landing page to capture evidence like cell phone photos or videos,
text messages, and phone messages. The evidence can then be analyzed and tagged with the
help of digital tools and shared with other collaborating agencies – freeing ocers to spend
The rst step is to ensure all key stakeholders are on board, including your municipality,
local business organizations and relevant citizen groups.
Involve these stakeholders in the process of writing policy to govern how the program
works. It is, after all, a community program.
Identify areas of the community where the program will be promoted.
Invest in marketing and communications resources to reach out to potential participants
and describe the benets of participation. You may also want to use this as an opportunity
to communicate the rights and responsibilities of small businesses and homeowners
regarding their video surveillance systems, including ensuring their system is properly
secured.
Partner with municipal ocials and police departments to help get the word out about the
program.
