Sandy Springs police asking residents to register home cameras

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - Police in Sandy Springs are turning to new technology to try and help solve crimes in the area, and they want community members to get involved. The department has partnered with Fusus, a digital safety platform that allows resident or businesses to share footage from surveillance cameras with police. 

Police departments in Atlanta, Roswell, and Cobb County are already using similar technology. Now, police in Sandy Springs are asking their own residents to connect their cameras in the name of public safety.

"It creates a comprehensive network of cameras across the city that allows us the opportunity, if we’re allowed, to use the camera to help track and solve crimes," Sgt. Matthew McGinnis said. "It’s a real-time live update center using technology that’s already in place in the community."

It’s the same kind of technology that police say helped them track down the suspected Midtown shooter that killed one person and injured four others last week.

McGinnis says the success of other metro Atlanta law enforcement groups using digital crime centers like Fusus inspired their department to make use of the platform that connects cameras community-wide to its system network.

"It’s a program that integrates all types of videos so, you can pull a video from an iPhone, you can pull a video from an android you can pull a video from a ring camera or any street camera for that matter," he explained.

McGinnis says they are encouraging residents to register their cameras as part of the public safety program that maps crime.

"You can help locate crimes, you can find evidence scenes, things that happen in real time we can give officers real time updates," McGinnis said.

Emory University marketing professor David Schweidel says it’s becoming an increasingly popular strategy for law enforcement groups trying to keep up with criminals.

"It’s not just residential cameras being incorporated into these systems. It’s also commercial entities, businesses that have security cameras that they can link up as well," Schweidel said.

While McGinnis says police can only view footage they’re granted permission to use from residents on a volunteer basis, the Emory professor says it’s still somewhat of a tradeoff of privacy but one many residents will likely consider given recent events. 

"Possibly a majority of people would say I’m okay with giving up some of that privacy right now if you’re going to be able to keep us safer," Schweidel added.

You can find information on how to sign up by clicking here.