The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is stepping up its game in an effort to expedite the process of locating crucial surveillance footage through its new Fusus Camera Registry.
The registry allows the sheriff’s office to compile a map of security cameras that will enable investigators to gather evidence much faster.
Chief Deputy Jamie Singley said the registry does not give the department access to your camera feeds whatsoever. Instead, in the event a crime occurs in your area, such as a burglary, it lets the sheriff’s department know which residences, businesses or churches have security cameras in the area.
“It does not — I repeat — it does not let us see your cameras. We cannot spy on you. It just basically shows us where you are in the county with the cameras, and if we have something in that area, it gives us your immediate contact,” he explained. “I, or the investigators, can email you or call you and say, ‘We’ve had burglars in the area. Can you check your cameras from this time to this time to see if you’ve seen any strange vehicles or people walking?’”
On a recent burglary case, deputies spent roughly six to seven hours driving around looking at houses to see if they had cameras. In several instances, they saw cameras only to find out that they weren’t connected. With the registry, the department would know immediately which places have working cameras that might have picked up something that could dramatically help a case.
The registry creates a digital map that gives the department a visual tool to better locate the cameras.
“It would be a great tool because we could just look on that map in that area and see those cameras,” Capt. Pete Williams said, “to try and catch vehicles and whatnot.”
Sheriff Berkley Hall reiterated that the department cannot view anyone’s camera feeds through the registry and added that the entire operation — from locating the cameras to using the footage with permission of the owner — is 100% anonymous.
There are no restrictions to what type of cameras can be registered. Doorbell cameras, motion-activated cameras, security cameras or anything else with surveillance can be registered. Hall said he’s seen cases all over the country that have been solved because it was caught on a simple doorbell camera.
“It’s truly beneficial,” Singley added. “It also keeps us from knocking on your day saying ‘Hey, I see you have cameras.’ Now, law enforcement isn’t at your house. We’re just shooting you an email or calling you. You can email (the footage) right back to us, so we don’t have to come pick it up or anything like that.”
Hall added that so many people are scared to help in cases, but he asks the public to realize that they are not Superman either.
“We got to do it, and we have to have help. It’s already proven to be a factor already with the camera footage we’ve gotten,” he said.
Oftentimes, a lot of people will complain or wonder why police haven’t arrested someone yet for a particular crime. Piecing together the evidence takes a considerable amount of time, especially when deputies have to go door to door looking for cameras. This registry will exponentially speed up the process and allow deputies to get the information they need in as little as 10 minutes rather than spending hours upon hours looking for a needle in a haystack.
There are two ways to access the website to register cameras. You can visit marioncountysheriff.org/links then click on a link to register or go directly to marioncounty.fususregistry.com.
