COMMUNITY CAMERA PROGRAM
Do you use private video surveillance at your home or business that records video?
If you do, the Cortez Police Department would like to partner with you to help solve crime.
Video surveillance is one of the best methods for apprehending criminals and convicting suspects who are caught in the act of committing a crime. The Cortez Police Department’s Community Camera Program is a notable example of community-police partnerships and is something we highly value as a law enforcement agency serving our community.
How Does It Work?
The Community Camera Program allows residents and business owners to share locations and capabilities of their security camera systems with the Cortez Police Department. Using this information, when a crime occurs, the Cortez Police Department will know the locations of nearby video cameras and be able to collect video evidence and follow up on leads. This Community Camera Program is completely voluntary, and you can withdraw from the program at any time. You can manage your registration through your CRIMEWATCH Network profile under the Forms tab, then Camera Registry.
What are the Benefits?
Because criminals are caught in the act of committing the crime, video surveillance is one of the best methods to identify suspects and convict them. As crimes occur nearby, many residents and business owners are unaware that their camera systems may have captured information that could help solve a crime. Likewise, Law Enforcement is not always aware of who may have potentially vital video evidence. By partnering with us, Officers can quickly identify nearby cameras that may have captured criminal activity. Cortez Police Department will only contact you if there is a criminal incident near your security camera and we believe viewing your video footage will assist in the investigation.
DISCLAIMER & TERMS OF USE
By signing up, you WILL NOT be giving the Cortez Police Department access to your cameras. This will only let us know you have cameras, and we may reach out to you if a crime happens in your neighborhood.
The goal of the Community Camera Program is to deter crime and promote public safety through collaboration between the Cortez Police Department and the community we serve. Accordingly, all camera registrants agree to the following terms and conditions:
- Any footage containing/or related to criminal activity may be collected for use by the Cortez Police Department as evidence during any stage of a criminal proceeding.
- Relevant information is reserved for official use by the Cortez Police Department and will not be released to any member of the public or press unless ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction and/or a governmental agency with oversight authority over such information, including, without limitation, the Office of Open Records.
- If necessary, the Cortez Police Department will contact you directly using the information provided on this site to request the appropriate video surveillance footage.
- Under no circumstances shall registrants construe that they are acting as an agent/or employee of the Cortez Police Department through the Community Camera Program.
- Under no circumstances shall the Cortez Police Department utilize any information obtained to view footage/feeds directly from cameras owned by registrants.
