The Tallahassee Police Department will soon be launching a program to allow businesses and private citizens to share their cameras to aid in investigations.
The program, called Connect Tallahassee, will allow people who own cameras on private property to give TPD access to their video feeds or to expedite turning over footage to the police during investigations. Store cameras, ring cameras, and other types of personal cameras are all eligible to be registered in the program.
The department already owns 93 cameras on public property. Police Chief Lawrence Revell said during Wednesday’s commission meeting he’s seen a decrease in crime in areas where the cameras are placed. He hopes adding more cameras that police can access will mean an even steeper dip in crime.
“We know that a small percentage of criminals in town commit a large portion of those crimes, and the faster we can solve crimes, the safer our community is. We know that. It has been proven time and time again,” he said.
Members of the City Commission were supportive of the program. Mayor John Dailey says its important that the program is voluntary, while Commissioner Jack Porter said policies about how the cameras will be used should be made clear to the general public.
“I think that is just an important safeguard, or, to build the community trust because there are people who are uncomfortable when they think about the cameras and everything everywhere. The more transparency, the better so we have the community’s buy in,” she said.
Similar programs already exist in Jacksonville and Orlando. The department will start community outreach about signups for the program in coming weeks.