The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBDF) wants people and businesses with security cameras to join a programme letting police monitor their video feeds to fight crime.

RBPF officials yesterday announced the launch of FUSUS, a technology used in some American cities that is being eyed in other locations worldwide, though critics are concerned about creating surveillance states.

The technology would reportedly integrate various policing tools such as CCTV, ShotSpotter, body-worn cameras, electronic monitoring, and drones into a real-time platform.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Zhivago Dames said officers have spoken to several businesses that have agreed to grant access to their cameras.

He said 24 people have already registered their CCTVs.

“FUSUS integrates CCTV and ShotSpotter to provide a comprehensive approach to crime prevention,” he said. “So if a shot goes off in a particular area, the CCTVs would also receive that signal and will emanate on the screen or be produced on the screen so the officers in the Real Time Crime Centre will be able to see exactly the cameras in that area in addition to the precise location where those shots emanated from.”

 “And so that gives the officers in the Real Time Crime Centre, once it’s captured on those cameras, an actual view of possible suspects in that area so that you can be able to speak to those officers or pass that information on to those officers who are patrolling to that particular incident.”

 “With this integration, the Royal Bahamas Police Force can effectively analyze and utilize data, enabling us to anticipate and prevent crime activities before they occur, rather than just responding to them after the fact.”

 People can connect doorbell cameras to the system. Registration is free, with ACP Dames saying the RBPF would only access cameras with people’s permission.

 People can register to participate through the RBPF’s website.

 “You put in your name, address, your email address, the amount of cameras that you have on,” ACP Dames said. “If you want us to view cameras inside, we can do that also.”

 He said although police are in the early stages of the programme, it has already yielded positive results, referring to an incident in The Grove area where police retrieved footage from a business and their own CCTV.

 He said when a similar platform was introduced in Atlanta, officials there registered over 13,000 extra cameras.

 He said the programme provided “enhanced crime prevention, improved police response times (and) increased public safety community engagement”.

 “This platform offers avenues for community members to contribute to public safety, fostering a collaborative effort in policing.”