By Police1 Staff
WAUKEE, Iowa — Police are asking residents to register their home security cameras to help them solve crimes.
According to the Des Moines Register, the Waukee Police Department are following departments across the nation to encourage their community to register their home doorbell cameras so police can quickly request footage if an incident occurs nearby.
Departments in New York, Virginia and Texas have already established programs that take advantage of the growing number of home cameras.
“It’s crazy how many people have doorbell cameras ... it’s going to be an advantage for us,” Waukee police Sgt. Mackenzie Sposeto said.
More than 3.4 million doorbell recording devices were expected to be sold last year with reports saying the devices will be in 22 million homes by 2020.
Some departments are offering discounts on doorbell cameras in exchange for access to their footage. Waukee police aren’t offering subsidies on devices, but since launching their program a few weeks ago, they’ve received around 20 applications.
Registering these devices doesn’t give police automatic access to footage, but if a crime occurs in a neighborhood with a registered camera, police can contact the owner and request recordings.