Have A Security Camera? Brookline Police Ask For Volunteers

BROOKLINE, MA — Every so often the Brookline police will release an image from a security camera someone has let them use as they investigate a crime. Those images have helped solve the crime, police say.

It's become routine for police to contact banks and gas station owners and there are 11 closed-circuit cameras at intersections around town that police have on hand. But as more residents increasingly use their own security cameras, police say it could help them keep the town safe.

Enter "Operation Community View."

The Brookline Police Department is joining other police departments around the country asking for residents who may have security cameras pointed outside toward the street and who would be willing to share this video footage with them when they're investigating crimes in their particular neighborhoods to come register with them.

While Brookline has been resistant to investment in and use of surveillance cameras and civil liberties advocates fear town cameras could create an undue invasion of privacy, utilizing the private security cameras already installed around town is a potential workaround for police.

"This isn't Big Brother watching," said Deputy Superintendent Michael Gropeman. "This is just the new era of crime watch and this is 100 percent voluntary."

The department will only request to view your video footage when they are investigating specific crimes associated with your neighborhood, in attempts to identify suspects committing crimes, he said.

"A number of crimes that have occurred in less urban areas, we really could have gotten some type of help if we had something in place like this," he said.

Rather than having officers canvass neighborhoods knocking on doors and then having to circle back if no one is home the first time just to check if someone has a camera facing the street, a list of contacts who have security cameras facing the street could speed up the time it takes to nab someone. In a case where it's a home break-in, quicker access to someone who at least has a security camera and video footage could mean quicker identification of a potential burglar and quicker crime solved could mean the difference between a crime solved after one house was broken into versus multiple.

And then take, for example, the horrific crime in 2009 when a Brookline woman was abducted and raped before her abductors returned her to Harvard Street.

"It was such an unbelievable crime, had we not had video we might not be able to solve it. The fact that we were able to make an arrest because of that says a lot about the future of cameras and crime detection," said Gropeman.

After that case, the department created a list of businesses that have security cameras so that they could more quickly reach out to them when searching for useful video following a crime. The time it takes to get the video is precious when it comes to solving and preventing more crime, say police.

"It would help us solve crimes and bring the crime rate down," said Gropman.

Although no data was immediately available as to how often video had helped Brookline police solve crimes, it's become a regular important tool, he said.

The list would be private, to be used by detectives only in case of a crime to save time, according to police.

Gropeman said police think it could be useful in everything from helping to find people diagnosed with mental or emotional needs who wander off and get lost, to nabbing package thieves to helping the Animal Control officer figure out what kind of response might be necessary when dealing with wild animals— if a resident is interested in sending that to police.

Surveillance cameras aren't always perfect. People have posted footage of an alleged crime to social media without verifying information, which can lead to misinformation, say experts.

Police say if you are willing to assist the police department in their efforts to solve these crimes committed in your neighborhood, they urge you to contact Detective Lt Paul Cullinane at pcullinane@brooklinema.gov

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