The Alpharetta City Council voted Monday to approve a deal with Ring, which sells internet-connected doorbell cameras, to streamline how cops can get footage they say could help them solve crimes. The vote was unanimous, with Councilwoman Karen Richard absent.
For police to get the video, they must ask residents with Ring for video on a case-by-case basis.
Johns Creek and Milton in the last three months have both cut similar deals with Ring, which is owned by Amazon.
Alpharetta’s public safety director John Robison explained to the council Monday how these cameras could help cops solve crimes, especially in ones like car break-ins where cops usually don’t have anything to start with.
If police had a time frame of when the crimes might have happened, he said, cops would them ask residents who’ve opted in for their footage. Reviewing video might give them a license plate or photo to run with, Robison said.
From license plate readers to these doorbell devices, the use of cameras has been dubbed nationwide as the “new neighborhood watch.”
All over the country, governments are wrestling with empowering police versus the looming prospect of a surveillance state.
In Atlanta, roughly 11,000 cameras passively patrol the streets. That has led technology research firm Comparitech to declare Atlanta one of the top 10 most-surveilled cities.
As this trend progresses, city leaders are trying to think about unthinkable issues.
Alpharetta Councilman Ben Burnett brought up the idea that footage used to convict someone would one day enter the public record as evidence used to send someone to jail or prison.
Robison, the head of police, said he wasn’t sure how that would work and referred the question to City Attorney Sam Thomas.
Thomas, thinking through it in real-time, said it’s complicated but that type of information could typically be released.
There was no public comment at the meeting.
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