Doorbell cameras give police, fire agencies a tool, but many mindful of privacy concerns
More and more police and fire agencies nationwide are partnering with Amazon and Ring to join a platform that allows them to request footage of suspected crimes captured by doorbell security cameras.
However, as more privacy concerns emerge for homeowners with Ring devices, Greater Columbus police and fire agencies say they remain mindful of user's privacy.
In August 2019, only 405 law enforcement agencies were using the Neighbors Public Safety Service, a Ring platform through which participating agencies can view voluntarily submitted footage from Ring participants or request footage. Now, that number has swelled to more than 2,160 participating law enforcement agencies, according to a Congressional inquiry into privacy concerns.
In Greater Columbus, there are now more than a dozen police or fire agencies of various sizes that partner with Ring, a subsidiary of Amazon, and the Neighbors platform.
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Columbus police Zone Investigations Sgt. Jeff Spencer said most footage they receive from Ring doorbell cameras are of package thefts and break-ins. He said the service is useful for establishing trends of crimes in areas in the city and identifying package thieves on social media.
Columbus police homicide investigators have also been seen canvassing residents for Ring or other security footage in neighborhoods following homicides.
Perry Township police detective Charlie Mills said the service helps with investigations into package thefts, car break-ins and even neighbor disputes. One recent neighbor dispute he responded to “crossed into criminal activity,” and he believes footage from a Ring will help with a conviction.
Participation in the Neighbors service is voluntary for Ring owners who want to share video on the service, and owners are never required to share footage requested in posts by law enforcement.
Read Ring's Law Enforcement Guidelines
“I was kind of surprised at the level of involvement from the folks in the neighborhood. I was thinking there is a lot more fear, concerns of releasing video, (but) people are pretty much on board,” Mills said.
Deputy Chief David Williams, of the Westerville Division of Fire, said the service doesn’t just benefit law enforcement agencies, but also helps fire crews. The Neighbors app and Ring cameras serve two functions: communicating with the public and helping the department collect data on their responses.
Gahanna Deputy Police Chief Jeff Lawless, said the department is “seeing more and more” user-submitted footage recorded on Ring devices or doorbell camera systems from other brands. While the technology is useful, he said it still has its limitations.
“It depends on the quality of the video. The quality of the video is sometimes not what you hope it would be and realize the content of the video has no value,” Lawless said.
Columbus Sgt. Spencer also pointed to the limitations of doorbell cameras.
“It's hit or miss due to lighting or the angle if we got to see their faces,” Spencer said of crime suspects. “If we see their face, we’ll send it out on a media release.”
Privacy concerns heightened
However, privacy concerns recently emerged again after Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, announced that an inquiry into Amazon and Ring doorbell cameras revealed that Amazon had provided videos to law enforcement in response to an emergency request 11 times this year through a process that does not require the consent or knowledge of the device owner, USA Today reported.
Ring does not disclose customer information in response to government demands unless compelled to through a legal order like a search warrant, a separate process than through the Neighbors platform, according to a Ring spokesperson.
"The law authorizes companies like Ring to provide information to government entities if the company believes that an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to any person, such as a kidnapping or an attempted murder, requires disclosure without delay," a Ring spokesperson said in a statement.
Spencer said he wasn't even aware there was a function that police could request footage without user's consent. In his experience, he said there are many privacy protections for Ring users, including restricting officers from seeing the name or address of people who have uploaded video.
Lawless said Gahanna police are not interested in accessing cameras without consent, and said there would have to be extreme circumstances to warrant seeking immediate access to footage without the user's knowledge.
“If we stepped off that ledge, there better be a small child's life at stake,” Lawless said. “It’s likely we’d still go through the route of the subpoena.”
Mills, who has a Ring device at his own home, said he shared the public’s security and privacy concerns, but stressed that he can only view footage people send without going through an elaborate legal process.
“My concern was that law enforcement would be able to access my camera without my knowledge and permission,” Mills said. “From my end, the only video is what I get when people send it to me — but I can certainly understand people's concerns.”
Williams said that an important part of fostering trust in the Neighbors service and doorbell cameras is to maintain a respect for residents' privacy.
“In the last seven or eight years, 100% of our fire investigations we've been able to find someone's personal doorbell footage,” Williams said. “It works, and I think that the privacy part is extremely important, that we respect that of people.”
Cole Behrens is a reporter at The Columbus Dispatch covering public safety and breaking news. You can reach him at CBehrens@dispatch.com or find him on Twitter at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: More central Ohio first responders making use of home doorbell cameras
