CameraConnect DC, the Metropolitan Police Department’s new community camera sharing program, gives residents, business owners, institutions, and others an additional way to help police solve crime in their neighborhood. It is clear that video footage helps MPD investigators effectively solve cases, so increasing our awareness and ability to obtain footage from more locations increases our ability to combat and solve crime.
The program offers two ways community members, businesses, hotels, and other institutions can help police to make our communities safer:
- FOR RESIDENTS
By registering your camera system — such as a doorbell camera or private CCTV system — giving officers advance knowledge of available sources of evidence should a crime occur near your location. Registration is free. - FOR COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
By registering and making your system available for instant access should a threat or incident occur near your location. This approach leverages new technology to allow camera feeds from businesses, multifamily dwellings, and commercial facilities to be shared with MPD’s Real Time Crime Center for live viewing of threats and crimes as they occur.
How It Works
The Metropolitan Police Department camera registry is a way to easily locate the cameras nearest to an incident during the course of an investigation, emergency event, or emergency response. In the past, investigators had to rely on eyewitnesses and piece together pertinent information over days and sometimes months. The camera registry gives private residents and business owners the ability to register their cameras in an online portal, only accessible with permission, for law enforcement to quickly and easily use this information to reference a map of relevant cameras that could contain actionable evidence for crimes and life-saving data.
The information you provide will be used by police to help us identify security cameras around the city. If a crime takes place near your home or business, the police may contact the representative provided on your notification form to arrange the transfer of the video from your establishment to the police department. The videotape or digital file may assist detectives in their investigation and it could become evidence in a criminal trial.
If you are a commercial entity (such as an office building, hotel, religious institution, multifamily apartment, or other large building) and opt to provide live feeds from your system, the CameraConnect DC program will securely link your cameras with MPD's Real Time Crime Center, allowing its authorized, trained users to monitor and assess the situation in real time. This new technology is fully consistent with existing District of Columbia law and best practice recommendations from a variety of different organizations. The footage is capturing only what occurs on public space and with the permission of those providing access.
Register Your Camera System
To begin the process of registering your system, please complete the registration form. Any new or existing camera can be registered for free.
PLEASE NOTE: These links take you to an external site not maintained or controlled by the District of Columbia.
- FususREGISTRY — The FususREGISTRY security camera map speeds investigations. FususREGISTRY saves time and enables investigations by creating a map of all the registered public and private security cameras in a location. When an incident occurs, investigators can use the FususREGISTRY to easily locate and reach out to all the camera owners in the vicinity to request video footage. Learn more about the camera registry program.
- FususCORE — Integrating your camera system takes community security one step further by allowing the Metropolitan Police Department access to your camera feed in case of an emergency near your location. You can integrate all of your cameras or just a few of them. You set your preferences. Integrating your feed can help keep you safer by providing advanced details of the situation in case of a nearby emergency or in response to criminal activity. To integrate your cameras, all you need is a small fususCORE device that plugs into your camera system. Once it's set up, it enables camera sharing based on your settings without affecting your network. Learn more about the camera integration program.
If You Need to Obtain a Camera System
If you would like to participate in the CameraConnect DC program but do not currently have a camera system, you can choose to purchase and register one or choose one of the following programs:
- Private Security Camera Incentive Program (OVSJG) — Learn more about the District of Columbia’s Private Security Camera Rebate and Private Security Camera Voucher programs — offered through the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants — and how residents, businesses, nonprofits, and religious institutions can purchase and install security camera systems on their property and receive a rebate of up to $500. A voucher program is also available to qualifying residents to have a system installed for free. Once a system has been installed, residents and businesses can register it with the Metropolitan Police Department for free.
- Commercial Purchase for Businesses — Learn more about purchasing a camera system through Kastle Systems for use in your business or commercial building. Once you've obtained a camera system, there is no cost to register it with CameraConnect DC. Note that these links will lead to an external website outside of the Government of the District of Columbia.
- Capital Shield — Capital Shield is a public-private partnership that unites the Metropolitan Police Department with commercial property owners, businesses, and institutions around a common goal to protect the city. Through this program, participants can help enhance public safety by providing the MPD with direct access to their security cameras via the Kastle Systems platform. This enables first responders to quickly gain the situational awareness required to most effectively assist and respond to major security events and emergency situations.
