Sacramento Police Department launches city-wide camera system
SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento Police Department launched a new high-tech crime-fighting tool that, within 48 hours of its launch, they credit as helping officers solve a robbery in Old Sacramento.
The system is called The Public Safety Camera Network and connects cameras owned by the city, police, and private owners, like businesses or residents, in one place.
"What our ultimate goal is to provide a better service to our community and so, by way of having the ability for officers on the street to be able to pull over, pull up camera footage, that's our ultimate goal to provide that service," said Sacramento Police Department spokesperson Officer Anthony Gamble.
Gamble told CBS13 the system will give officers access to a map that shows the locations of registered cameras. If officers are investigating a crime nearby, the service will show where potential cameras that capture evidence are located. Registering cameras does not give police direct access to any privately owned cameras, according to the department's FAQ page on the system, and the registry is only used to request footage if an incident occurs in the vicinity.
Within 48 hours of the system's launch, Sacramento police officers were able to locate a group of suspects involved in an Old Sacramento robbery Friday night.
According to a media release on the incident, a 13-year-old boy flagged down officers near the tunnel that connects Old Sacramento with Downtown Commons. As the boy was telling the officers about the robbery that just occurred, another officer logged into the Public Safety Camera Network and found that part of the crime was recorded. From that video, officers identified what the suspects were wearing and found them running from the scene nearby.
Kobe Graze, 26, was arrested on a felony warrant for resisting arrest, grand theft, and organized retail theft charges. Ray Gaines from Elk Grove and Xavier Terrell from Sacramento, both 18 years old, were arrested for robbery and conspiracy charges.
A 16-year-old male and a 15-year-old male were both arrested for robbery and conspiracy charges. An 11-year-old who was arrested was released to their parent.
The arrests were an early example of what the network of cameras can do for police.
"So what it does is it streamlines the system for our officers to know the cameras are at this location, this house or business, and gives us a tool to help solve crime and, hopefully, prevent further crimes from happening if we're able to identify a suspect and maybe locate that suspect," Gamble said.
The system costs the City of Sacramento about $300,000 over three years for the program, according to the Sacramento Police Department. There are also fail-safes in place to prevent misuse, including unique logins for specific officers that track what is viewed and when.
Gamble said there will also be random audits in the system to address any potential issues that may arise. There has been beta testing for a couple of months using the police-owned cameras.
People who sign up and register their private cameras can revoke access at any time or limit access. More information, including frequently asked questions, is available through the Sacramento Police Department website.
