Sudbury police encourage residents to register home security cameras with CAMSAFE

Police in Greater Sudbury are partnering with CAMSAFE, a web-based voluntary registry of CCTV and security cameras.

Ideally, it will give police more access to cameras across the city and help officers solve crimes more efficiently. But to be successful, residents and business owners must participate.

Police in Greater Sudbury are partnering with CAMSAFE, a web-based voluntary registry of CCTV and security cameras. (Photo from video)

"It's really an amazing tool for us to leverage the resources of our community and use them for investigations," said Staff Sgt. Sherry Young.

Signing up for CAMSAFE doesn't mean police can remotely access security cameras and it doesn’t mean residents are under any obligation to share the footage.

However, registering means police know where cameras are located in the city and they can contact you in the process of an investigation.

"You can give me as little as your name and your address and your phone number," Young said.

"That tells me that you have cameras at your residence and I have a means to contact you. You also have the capability of telling me where your cameras are located. So you can upload photos, you can tell me you have a camera directly on your driveway (or) you can tell me you have one in your backyard."

She said the effectiveness of the program depends on how much data residents are willing to share.

The service is no stranger to using video for investigations. The Lions Eye in the Sky is a tool that's been around for more than two decades. Young said the proliferation of security cameras offers an opportunity to have the public help with investigations.

"We're in a technology stage right where more and more members of our community have this technology and we're silly to not utilize this resource," she said.

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Cyber security technology analyst Ritesh Kotak said CAMSAFE is another tool in the police toolbox.

"If there is an incident in a particular area, it minimizes the time that police are able to get the information that they need and thus hopefully, prevent further victimization within the community," Kotak said.

The Timmins Police Service partnered with CAMSAFE in the spring and now has upwards of 136 registrations.

People in Sudbury can register by visiting www.camsafe.ca.