Police in Jackson, Mississippi have reportedly asked resident owners of internet-connected security cameras, like Amazon’s Ring devices, to give them unhindered access to their live video streams for a use in a « Real Time Crime Center » A spokesperson for Ring made it clear that Ring had not been consulted and had no involvement in the program, which is facilitated by independent data collection and monitoring companies It’s also unclear what other private camera systems Jackson Police are trying to get their hands on
To check: Ring has a bad reputation among privacy advocates for partnering with over 400 police departments across the US, effectively forming surveillance networks in virtually every major city Thanks to Ring’s « Neighbors » app, a hyperlocal social media feed for Ring video messages, nearby police can view public messages; they can also ask Ring to email users with requests for video submissions, although Ring says it does not make live video feeds available to the police (Although Ring told repeatedly do not share any user credentials, there is reason to believe that the police might be able to fill in the gaps) Ring has a fairly open interest in pushing community of forces ‘partnerships’ order to write arguments that the police must present to citizens
Jackson Police Department’s plan makes Ring partnerships a snap It would work with private data collection companies Fūsus and Pileum to integrate Ring videos into a real-time surveillance system that aggregates videos from public and private sources, which are then combined with police dispatch data NBC affiliate WLBT reports that they will use a « real-time crime center, » described on Fūsus’s website as a 24/7 eye on the street:
Whether it’s a UAV, traffic camera, private cell phone video, building security camera, or demining robot, fūsus can extract the live video feed and send it to your emergency operations center and agents in the field
These are some pretty extraordinary claims about the company’s capabilities, and they are of great concern Gizmodo asked fūsus if he gets consent to collect a « private cell phone video » and will update the post if we have news
Worryingly, fūsus also seems to have no qualms about combining all of this with user credentials, advertising a « public safety ecosystem » that combines video with dispatch data. computer-aided (CAD), “real-time agent geolocation feeds”, and “a registry map of all public and private cameras in your area” CAD data, collected from police calls, often include personal names and addresses It’s also unclear whether this CAD data will be associated with Ring or other home security camera users, but Gizmodo has contacted fūsus and will update if we hear any news.
Fūsus is calling its offering a “digital evidence vault,” which strongly implies that Jackson’s police may store a multitude of Jacksonite videos, without their consent, for future use (This is already possible through the traffic cameras and probably via Ring videos)
Mayor Lumumba said Ring owners would sign waiver before granting police access “FUSUS allows us to connect to cameras,” Lumumba told WLBT “If someone says: « I want my Ring door camera to be used », we can use it «
Gizmodo has contacted the Mayor’s Office and the Jackson Police Department and will update the message if we have any news
Ring, Jackson, Mississippi, Chokwe Antar Lumumba
World News – UA – Jackson, Mississippi, embraces State of Surveillance