Bay City News reports that Palo Alto police have launched a new program that allows the city’s residents and businesses to voluntarily notify law enforcement of privately-owned security cameras on their property.
“This new program will allow our personnel to quickly and efficiently contact camera owners in the aftermath of a crime,” Palo Alto Police Chief Andrew Binder said in a statement. “Security camera footage from your cameras may provide the clues we need to solve the crime and make an arrest.”
Police said that when a crime has been committed, the program will make it easier for them to determine if there is a nearby security camera that could have captured evidence of the lawless activity. Officers would contact the camera owners to ask if it recorded anything useful for police investigation.
“The camera owner can choose to review the footage and submit any relevant parts to the police, submit all of their footage during the appropriate period to the police without reviewing it, or simply disregard the request altogether. It is up to the camera owner how much, if at all, they would like to help,” the Palo Alto Police Department said.
“Choosing to sign up with this program does not allow officers to remotely access any privately owned security cameras. Police will still continue our longstanding practice of knocking on doors of neighbors adjacent to an area where a crime was committed to see if they heard or saw anything suspicious,” police said.
For more information about the Neighborhood Security Camera Program, visit www.cityofpaloalto.org/PAPDNeighborhoodCameras.
