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BRIGHTON, Colo -- The latest crime-fighting tool is likely right on your doorstep and now police want in. Brighton police are asking residents and business owners to register their surveillance cameras with the department.
"We’ve solved quite a few cases based on surveillance cameras that are in the community," said Brighton Police Sgt. Mark Kohn.
Police usually go door-to-door after a crime and ask if anyone has surveillance video. That process takes time and the technology is so good that police might not even realize there's a camera in the area.
"What we’re hoping this program will help us with is to be able to locate those cameras faster and also maybe some cameras that we miss," said Sgt. Kohn.
Residents and business owners can register their cameras online.
The program has prompted questions about privacy but police want to stress the information will be put into a private database and only used as an investigative tool for officers. The department will not have live access to monitor cameras; instead, they will only know who has a camera and where it's located.
"What we’re asking for is just that they let us know that they have cameras. If we do have a crime that takes place in that area or we think that there might be footage that would be helpful to our investigation then we still have to go to the person’s door, we have to ask them would you mind letting us watch your video," said Sgt. Kohn.
