Help police access your security cameras to solve crimes

If you are one of the growing number of Ontarians who have installed a private residential or commercial security system that collects video footage, the Kawartha Lakes detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like you to consider joining CAMSafe. That’s where footage from your camera could be used, with your permission, to assist and expedite police investigations.

In a telephone interview with Acting Sergeant Jake Daynes, community safety and media relations officer for the City of Kawartha Lakes OPP detachment, Daynes says CAMSafe is a program aimed at creating a database of residential and commercial security cameras. This pooled information can then act as a resource for police when investigating offences (or) crimes, Daynes said.

He said that CAMSafe is run by a consortium of local police departments who employ civilians working for the police services to input the data and create the listing of where these cameras are located.

“When a police officer uses the CAMSafe database,” Daynes said, “they will see a map of the local area. Officers can click on registered addresses to view further details, such as the property owner contact information. Officers cannot access your security cameras or cloud-based accounts. If police would like to examine camera footage, they can make a request to the property owner using contact information from the database.”

Daynes told Kawartha Lakes Weekly that with public buy-in this program could save officers hours, if not days, of investigative time that today often begins with a neighbourhood canvas surrounding the crime scenes looking for cameras.

“We require public support to make this program work. This will speed up investigations. These cameras are great tools and great things to have, particularly when investigating car thefts, car break-in and other property crimes.”

Daynes said that interested community members are only required to provide basic contact information and camera location but can include more details if desired, such as the direction the camera faces, footage retention details or screen shots of the camera view.

“So far, we have had good feedback,” Daynes said. “CAMSafe is gaining traction and this is another opportunity for positive engagement with the community.”

Daynes did add that the major hurdle the program will have to overcome to be successful is individual camera owners’ concerns about privacy.

“We know this is a worry. The goal of this program is to produce a phonebook of available cameras in the community. I can’t force you to give me the footage. Only police services will get access to the footage. It is a very secure program. Registrants can only view their own information and can delete their account or change their information anytime.”

When asked if the quality of image these systems provide is good enough to assist the police, Daynes was positive.

“These cameras are almost as good as the cameras on a smartphone,” Daynes said. “They assist us in solving crimes. Anything (image-wise) is better than nothing.”

To learn more about the CAMSafe program and register cameras, Daynes encourages residents to visit camsafe.ca.