ELK GROVE — The police in Elk Grove are looking for new ways to fight crime.
The department runs a real-time information centre where employees watch video feeds from security cams all over the city. Now, the police are having workshops with local business owners and asking to see the cameras on the outside of their buildings.
The Community Sentinel Project is the name of it. Businesses can let the cops watch live video feeds and old videos if they want to.
You could also register the camera and let police download the video later if it helps with an investigation.
Andrea Cortez, who runs the police department’s real-time information centre, said, “The more information we have, the better decisions we can make.”
There is a company owner named Julie Agcaoili in Old Town Elk Grove who is thinking about joining the class.
“Working with the police department to get services to your business faster is great,” said Agcaoili.
But some people may worry about their privacy because cameras are being used to look into people’s houses and follow them around town.
The department says there are rules in place to stop people from abusing them.
Elk Grove Police Sgt. Jason Jimenez said, “We’re not here to spy on anyone.” “We’re not watching those business cameras 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” If something were to happen, we could look at those cams’ footage.”
Police in Elk Grove say that this kind of tech can make the area safer.
The department said that they have no plans to use AI or programs that can recognise faces on the camera feeds.
