Local law enforcement agencies are asking security camera owners to help them keep an eye on crime by joining a new registry called "Connect Shawnee County."
Citizens may register voluntarily to take part in the program, which will help law enforcement rapidly identify "locations of video systems that may have captured important activity, ultimately aiding in criminal investigations," Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill and interim Topeka police chief Jamey Haltom said in a joint news release late Tuesday.
“I see Connect Shawnee County as a new type of neighborhood watch,” Hill said.
How have security camera owners helped in the past?
Video from private security cameras has at times helped investigators solve significant crimes in the Topeka area.
Though the April 2019 shooting death of 23-year-old Washburn University football player Dwane Simmons in central Topeka was not caught on video, footage from security cameras in the surrounding area helped convince jurors to convict Francisco A. "Franky" Mendez of first-degree murder in Simmons' death.
Prosecutors convinced jurors Mendez had been at the scene by showing them video taken at various places he and his vehicle had been just before and just after Simmons was killed.
How can someone register a security camera in Topeka?
Haltom and Hill said residential and commercial property owners may register their cameras with Connect Shawnee County through its secure, online self-service portal at http://connectshawneecounty.org/ .
Connect Shawnee County will not provide law enforcement officers access to registrants' camera systems, hard drives or video footage, Haltom and Hill said in Tuesday's release.
"Registrant information and any video files provided will be kept confidential and only be used in the eventof a criminal investigation or emergency incident," it said.
Connect Shawnee County isn't the first program here of its type. Topeka police in 2019 initiated a security camera registry called "See Topeka .”
Officials also announce launch of 'Real Time Crime Center'
Haltom and Hill also announced Tuesday they were working in partnership with Fusus, a digital intelligence platform, to launch this community's latest public safety initiative, a "Real Time Crime Center," of which the camera registry will be a part.
The center is designed to provide critical and actionable information that speeds up investigations and emergency response and keeps residents safer, Haltom and Hill said."The Crime Center unifies public and private video feeds and combines them with a number of additional functionalities designed to streamline and enhance law enforcement capabilities in Topeka," Tuesday's release said. "This includes 911 and Computer-Aided-Dispatch (CAD) integration, officer geolocation, and the ability to pull multiple types of data ranging from floor plans, cell phone video and body camera footage all into a single map-based interface."
The sheriff's office and police department are based in the Law Enforcement Center at 320 S. Kansas Ave.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Shawnee County owners asked to register security cameras with law enforcement
Local News
