People with home security cameras in Beaufort might help police solve crimes. Here’s how

If you’ve got security cameras in the City of Beaufort, you might be able to help police solve crimes by registering your cameras, according to a press release.

“As security cameras become more popular, especially in homes such as with the Ring doorbell, they have become a tool that has been helpful to law enforcement in solving crimes,” Beaufort Police Department Chief Dale McDorman said in the press release Wednesday. “This can help us identify suspects and bring them to justice.”

The free registration form can be found on the Beaufort Police Department’s website and includes your address, where the cameras point and footage format.

The idea, according to Lt. Charles Raley, a Beaufort Police Department spokesperson, came about after other local departments have seen success in gathering evidence by obtaining people’s camera footage.

Signing up does not give police access to the cameras themselves, only information on how to contact their owner. Residents can remove their cameras at any time.

“The hope is, when we’ve got a crime in that area, we can see who has cameras there and reach out to see if they caught something,” Raley said. “It cuts down on the investigative time of going door to door.”