WASHINGTON — If you live in Stafford County, Virginia, and have a surveillance camera for your home or business, the authorities would like to know about it: It could help solve a crime, they say.
Late last month, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office began asking residents to register their surveillance cameras as part of the Stafford County Operation Public Eye, or SCOPE, program. So far, about 55 people have signed up, said Amanda Vicinanzo, public information officer with the sheriff’s office.
“Basically, when a crime happens, the sheriff’s office will be able to quickly identify who has a camera that may have potentially captured criminal activity and then we ask the resident whether they can either review their camera or we can review the footage to see if it captured any criminal activity,” Vicinanzo told WTOP.
Now, when a crime occurs — say, on a neighborhood street — authorities don’t have an easy way to know if it might have been captured on surveillance video. They have to go door-to-door asking residents and business owners if they have cameras and whether they can review the footage.
By asking residents to register their cameras in advance, the sheriff’s office will have a better understanding from the get-go if a crime was potentially captured on video.
“When a crime happens, seconds matter,” Vicinanzo said. “And so … we’re always looking for tools that will help us solve crimes more quickly.”
The program is voluntary. Vicinanzo also stressed that authorities still have to get permission from camera owners to review footage, even if residents have registered their cameras with the sheriff’s office.
The only information required to register is the camera owner’s name, address, email address and phone number. If a crime happens in their community, the sheriff’s office will contact camera owners to review footage.
Unlike in D.C., where residents are reimbursed by the District government if they buy and install surveillance cameras, there is no financial incentive under the program in Stafford County.
“This is just a way for us to partner with the community,” Vicinanzo said. “Our citizens are always asking us: How can they help? How can they deter crime in their communities? And this is one way that they can play a more proactive role.”
WTOP’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report.
