As popularity increases in home security and doorbell cameras, police in Waukee, Iowa, are asking residents to register them in order to help officers quickly solve nearby crimes, the Des Moines Register reports. Other cities across the country have launched similar programs in order to get access to camera footage faster, with some of them offering camera discounts.
Sgt. Mackenzie Sposeto of the Waukee Police Department tells the paper that registering a camera will not give police automatic access to the footage. It would give them a registry of who has a camera in the area so police can contact the owner to request the footage.
The Waukee Police Department says it's had about 20 people apply for the program since launching it a few weeks ago.
Home security camera footage is reportedly credited with helping police in Brooklyn, Iowa, find Cristhian Bahena Rivera. He's the man accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts last summer.
NextMarket Insights reports more than 22 U.S. homes will have "smart security devices" by 2020.
