KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A security camera program at the Kent County Sheriff's Office has now found federal support.
On Thursday, Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids), announced a $750,000 appropriation for the Kent Safety Network, previously referred to as Connect Kent County.
The program, which is not fully online, will let schools and businesses voluntarily provide a live feed of their surveillance video to the sheriff's office.
In the event of an active incident, these feeds would then be accessed at the office's Realtime Intelligence Center and viewed in combination with dash camera, body camera and drone feeds from deputies on the scene, assisting them in real time.
Notably, if deputies want to review the footage captured on these feeds for the purposes of solving a crime that has already happened, the "appropriate legal framework" will need to be followed.
Kent
A behind-the-scenes look at Kent County's new security camera program
"This system operates in real-time access," Kent County Undersheriff Bryan Muir said. "When video beyond that short-term access is needed, the appropriate legal framework, including search warrants, when required, will be obtained."
Muir also said data at the Realtime Intelligence center is "owned and controlled by local law enforcement," and access to its feeds are "credentialed, audited and restricted to legitimate public safety uses."
In addition to schools and businesses, homeowners can also participate in the Kent Security Network.
While these people won't provide a live feed of their cameras to the sheriff's office, they can add them to a registry. Then, if a crime happens in their neighborhood, deputies can send a message to those in the registry and provide them a link to voluntarily upload footage.
"This investment strengthens our ability to protect the people that we serve," Muir said. "We are here to keep our community safe. We wholeheartedly believe this funding and the initiative will make Kent County safer by providing actionable information to our first responders and ensuring that no community is left without access to the tools needed to protect themselves."
The federal support for the program comes from Community Project Funding, which lets members of congress direct federal budget dollars to specific non-profit or government-run projects in their districts.
Rep. Scholten says the Kent Safety Network was one of fifteen projects she chose to support.
"I am an advocate for this program," she said. "I'm also an advocate for the protection and preservation of our privacy rights and a project like this can and must coexist."
"The reason I chose this project is because I know the Kent County Sheriff's Office did their research on making sure a project like this can exist while still protecting individuals' privacy rights."
