DALLAS — The Dallas Police Department (DPD) and Dallas Police Fusion Center has launched the use of CONNECT DALLAS, a new public safety program.
This partnership between DPD, Fūsus, and the community, allows residents, businesses, or organizations to register cameras, via an online portal, DPD said in a press release.
CONNECT DALLAS is a way for the Dallas Police Department to easily locate the nearest cameras in a designated area during an investigation, emergency event, or emergency response, DPD officials said.
Previously, investigators needed to rely on eyewitnesses and piece together pertinent information over days and sometimes months. With CONNECT DALLAS and the camera registry, private residents and business owners can register their cameras to an online portal, only accessible through permission, for law enforcement to quickly and easily use those cameras to create a map of relevant cameras that could obtain actionable evidence for crimes and life-saving information.
City of Dallas camera owners simply register their cameras for DPD awareness or choose how, and when, their cameras are accessible to the DPD during an investigation or emergency.
Dallas police said participation will greatly enhance emergency preparedness by enabling police, fire, and public safety professionals to better assess and rapidly respond to criminal activity and emergency situations.
Registering a camera takes less than one minute on the online portal, DPD said, and doing so does not allow DPD access to your live video stream – it only enables investigators to know a camera is present at your location and easily request video evidence.
There are two levels of involvement, both take less than one minute to register:
- Level 1: Registering your cameras does not allow the Dallas Police Department access to your live video stream - it only enables investigators to know a camera is present at your location and easily request video evidence. An investigator from the Dallas Police Department will contact you via email if they need your assistance solving a crime near you.
- Level 2: Businesses can take community security one step further by giving DPD direct access to your camera feed in case of a nearby emergency. In partnership with Fūsus, a real-time option is available through the FūsusCORE device with conditional access. Camera owners can choose how and when their cameras are accessible to the police department. For example, private businesses and schools may choose to only have their cameras accessible to Dallas Police Department officers in an emergency. All you need is a small CORE device that you plug into your camera system.
Only authorized Dallas Police Department users have access to the entire camera registry map in their jurisdiction. DPD said users can unsubscribe from CONNECT DALLAS or change or delete information at any time.
For more information on CONNECT DALLAS and how to register a camera, visit connectdallas.org.
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