The Waukegan Police Department has announced they have partnered with Ring to make it easier for residents to share surveillance video with law enforcement when a crime occurs.
“If the Waukegan Police Department believes a crime may have been captured on a Ring device, police personnel can send a message to members of the community in a specific geographical region via the Neighbors App by Ring,” the department said in a statement.
“This partnership will not allow unapproved access to any videos recorded by the community member’s Ring device, nor will the police department be able to see who has a Ring device,” the statement said.
Officials believe this tool will help investigators capture valuable information such as suspects or suspect vehicles used during crimes.
The police department will not have live camera access and the device’s owner can opt out of receiving the message requests if they choose. All crimes should still be reported by calling 911 and the partnership will not take the place of filing a police report, officials said.
The Neighbors app, which was created by Ring, Amazon’s smart-doorbell company, is available for free on iOS, Android and FireOS devices.