Ocoee considering public, private camera registry to help city policing

OCOEE, Fla. — Public and private cameras could be added to a voluntary registry, allowing police real-time access.

Saint Cloud just tried the program and is moving forward with full implementation. Now Ocoee could be next.

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“We have a lot of businesses, as you can see, a lot of subdivisions that have cameras and to be able to set up and view that footage as something is taking place is instrumental,” Ocoee police deputy chief Vince Ogburn said.

The cloud-based software Fusus allows public or private entities to plug into an existing camera network.

CEO Christopher Lindenau said the video is encrypted and transmitted to an ongoing law enforcement live-stream or on-demand only when the law enforcement agency receives an alert.

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Saint Cloud police have already connected some of the city’s public cameras to the program.

Ideally, the system is most effective, Fusus says, if you can get local businesses and even homeowners to voluntarily participate.

“There’s certainly no access to anything technology wise, whether it be a doorbell camera stored video or a surveillance video on the outside of a business without the full consent of the video donor,” Lindenau said.

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From a law enforcement perspective, it’s a tool capable of saving officers time going door-to-door looking for potential video evidence, leading to faster arrests and in the most extreme cases fewer lives lost.

The Ocoee City Commission will vote on the 30-day trial program at its meeting tomorrow.