KYLE, Texas — Kyle police want residents to help them solve crimes by registering their surveillance cameras, which will make them easier to access for their investigations.
Officials say the cameras would be registered to a central video hub called Fusus, and residents can choose which cameras to register and how. Registration for the voluntary program through the Connect Kyle website takes only a few minutes.
Once residents register their cameras, an investigator from the Kyle Police Department will contact them via email if they need assistance solving a crime nearby.
"They have discretion over how much footage or what time frame, anything of that nature," said Ashlee Bradshaw, the public information officer for the police department.
Another option allows residents to integrate their cameras by giving Kyle police direct access to the camera feed in case of a nearby emergency.
"If and when there were a crime in that area, we would look to see who has their cameras registered and we would then request access," Bradshaw said. "We don't have any surveillance over any footage that is not granted to us by the camera owner."
ACLU Senior Policy Analyst Jay Stanley said Fusus is building real-time crime centers for police departments around the country. However, he worries this could infringe on the Fourth Amendment and also worries about abuse of the system.
"Police cameras and other cameras all being fed into a central location, really, that gives the police a lot of power. More power than police have ever had in history before," Stanley said. "The concerns there are about abuse. Sometimes, you get abusive officers; sometimes, you get whole departments."
Kyle police said only authorized staff will have access, and there are disciplinary actions in place for misuse. Police also said all law enforcement personnel with access to the system will be trained on how to view footage provided by the camera owner. According to the Connect Kyle website, the video given to police can not be subject to a public data request.
"But at what cost are you trying to find efficiency? Now you have less interaction with residents, which I think is really important," Kyle resident Yvonne Flores-Cale said.
A former council member, Flores Cale said she will not be opting into the voluntary program. She also questioned the lack of community involvement before it was approved by the city council.
"It's imperative that you have community input when you spend over half a million dollars of taxpayer dollars on a program that may not be successful," Flores-Cale said.
In September, city council members approved an 8-year contract with the company for a total of $675,000. You can learn more about it here.