The St. Paul RCMP is encouraging residents and businesses to join the voluntary surveillance camera registry program- CAPTURE (Community Assisted Policing Through the Use of Recorded Evidence).
The program, which has already seen success in other Alberta communities, aims to streamline criminal investigations by helping officers quickly locate video evidence.
Participation in CAPTURE is free and allows individuals and businesses with surveillance cameras to register their systems on a secure platform online, and if a crime occurs in the area, officers can contact registered participants to request access to relevant footage. Participants can upload specific video clips for officers to review before deciding if the footage is useful for the investigation.
Joining the program is optional and participants can withdraw at any time. The program offers several features including- privacy protection, and footage protection for camera owners.
Additionally, RCMP will not have live access to cameras, as they can only request and view pre-recorded footage, and CAPTURE offers secure sharing, participants can share video clips online for evaluation. Officials say officers may provide a USB drive if a copy is needed but cannot directly download videos.
