The Danville Police Department has announced the launch of its latest public safety initiative – a Real Time Crime Center in the Cloud platform designed to provide critical and actionable information that speeds up investigations and emergency response and keeps residents and businesses safer.
Powered by Fusus, the new platform includes a camera registry – an online portal for citizens to register their security cameras to help solve crimes in the community. The Danville Police Department is hoping that citizens will register their cameras and help create a community-wide public safety ecosystem.
By setting up a voluntary camera registration process, investigators will know almost immediately if any video evidence might be available near a crime scene, and who to contact to retrieve it. Registering a camera with the Danville Police Department is quickly and easily done through the self-service portal at onecommunityconnectdanville.org.
Both residential and commercial property owners and businesses are invited to register their security cameras. Registrant information and any video files provided will be kept confidential and only used in the event of a criminal investigation or emergency incident.
Camera registration does not give live video access to the Danville Police Department. It only gives them camera location information for use when an incident occurs. Investigators will contact camera owners only if they need assistance collecting camera footage. In the event of a theft for example, police may request from a store owner a recorded video to quicken the process of evidence gathering.
“Video platforms allow property owners to protect and surveil their homes and businesses at the touch of a button. Now with the public’s assistance and due diligence to help the Danville Police Department, voluntarily registering those systems will speed up identifying and brining offenders to justice,” Assistant Chief of Services David Whitley said.
In addition to the camera registry, the Danville Police Department is offering residents the option to upgrade their video security systems to include live video feeds to the department. By installing a small CORE device on their network, residents and businesses can share live video feeds with the department in emergencies to improve employee safety and police response. To preserve privacy, live video can optionally be shared only on alert, using a smartphone app or manual trigger button, at the camera owner’s discretion. This upgrade can be requested following the camera registration process online.
The new platform unifies public and private video feeds and combines them with a host of new functionalities designed to streamline and enhance the Danville Police Department’s law enforcement capabilities. This includes 911 and Computer-Aided-Dispatch (CAD) integration, officer geolocation, and the ability to pull multiple types of data ranging from floor plans to cell phone video to gunfire detection sensors to body camera footage all into a single map-based interface.
Of the new capabilities is also a new multi-media public tips option to report crimes or emergencies. Residents can send text messages, photos and videos directly to crimetips@danvilleva.gov to report suspicious or criminal activity they witness.
In order to help members of the community register their cameras as part of this voluntary program, the Danville Police Department will also be conducting a community outreach program by phone. Community Connect Advocates will be reaching out to local businesses to inform them about the program, and registering cameras over the phone if the owners wish to participate.
To register a camera with the Danville Police Department or to upload a video directly to investigators, please visit onecommunityconnectdanville.org and follow the instructions.
For more information about the Danville Police Department, visit (onecommunityconnectdanville.org), email danvillePD@danvilleva.gov or call 434-799-5111 opt. 8.