The cameras can collect evidence law enforcement could use to solve crimes across the county, said Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson.
“If somebody two blocks down has their house broken into, you may not even know that you caught the getaway car going away from it,” Wilson said.
Cameras across the county catch images every day that could help police solves crimes in every community, he added.
The idea started in 2013 when the Springfield Police Division investigated the death of 33-year-old Alana Spink on West Jefferson Street. Surveillance cameras mounted outside a nearby business captured a car chasing and then running over Spink, Wilson said. Investigators then took information from that video and asked nearby homeowners if they had cameras, too.
One homeowner did and an image of a suspect’s car was given to police, Wilson said. Within an hour the car was found and Ryan Baker identified as a suspect. Baker pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in the case last year and was sentenced to life in prison.
The Clark County Auditor’s Office helped the prosecutor’s office put together a digital database, said Shayne Gray, GIS and technology director at the auditor’s office.
The computer software the auditor’s office uses to map the county can help other branches of county government, he said, and this database was a prime example.
“We’re looking to get into other departments to help them with their daily usage,” Gray said.
Wilson is now asking for homeowners and businesses to sign up to be included in the database. Anyone can register online at the prosecutor’s office website, at the prosecutor’s office or can pick up a sign-up sheet at local law enforcement offices.
At least a dozen homeowners and businesses have signed up for the program already, Gray said.
Competition Accessories, 343 W. Leffel Lane, in Springfield, has cameras on the exterior of its buildings that can record the parking lot and street, said Manager Dave Bush.
“We’re all for it because we’ve had a good camera system in our business for a long time, so if that picks up something we’re more than happy to help,” he said.
The database is secure and can only be accessed by law enforcement, Gray said.
“It’s not an invasion of privacy at all,” Wilson said. “It’s a reactive-type system. It’s just so that we have the information for when a crime happens in a certain area or neighborhood, we know who may have caught evidence of it on their security system.”
The information collected from camera owners is used to map the location of cameras across the county. Other information, such as a contact for the camera owner and what locations can be seen on the cameras, such as roadways, is also included.
Anyone with questions about the surveillance camera database can call the prosecutor’s office at 937-521-1770.
©2015 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
