Delta Police have launched a new way for the public to get involved in helping keep their community safe – the Community Watch Program.
The program “creates an online database of homes and businesses with video cameras” reads a statement.
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“There are a variety of situations where police might want to view video that is privately collected,” says Staff Sergeant Dave Schaefer, who spearheaded the program.
“Our officers might be looking for information to help solve a spree of thefts from vehicles, or they may be urgently trying to find a high risk missing person. This database will help provide a starting point of where public-facing video cameras in the area may be”.
We've launched a new way for the public to help keep our community safe – the Community Watch Program. The program creates a database of homes and businesses with video cameras. Sign up at https://t.co/G2a1eivIHn News release – https://t.co/Bb0TeJ8Rjj pic.twitter.com/LKbvSbI2Wy
— Delta Police Department (@deltapolice) February 19, 2019
As it currently stands, officers have to conduct a door-to-door canvass for each instance, which is very time consuming.
This program is yet another way the public can help police with investigations and pursuing leads.
The Community Watch Program provides a mechanism for the public to proactively register, and help police solve crimes more rapidly, which could be critical in missing person or serious crime investigations.
“You never know how you might be able to help police out – it might be providing footage of someone breaking into your neighbour’s house, or maybe your cameras have a key bit of footage of someone’s tattoo that could help solve a serious crime,” says Mr. O’Connor, of his rational for registering”.
Delta Police have stated that signing up for the program is voluntary and can be easily done here.
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