Register Your Camera
Public safety agencies depend on neighborhoods to mitigate and investigate crimes and be better equipped as first responders on the scene of critical incidents. The Vigo County Sheriff’s Office is utilizing camera registration to create stronger public-private collaborations and enable businesses and community members to work more closely with law enforcement. The Camera registration system serves to increase community security while maintaining personal privacy.
How does the camera registry work?
The Vigo County Sheriff’s Office Polaris camera registry is a way to easily locate the nearest cameras in a designated area 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 to an online portal, only accessible through permission, for law enforcement to quickly and easily use cameras to create a map of relevant cameras that could obtain actionable evidence for crimes and life-saving data.
How much does it cost to register my cameras?
Registering a camera does not require any cost or additional hardware. Vigo County Sheriff’s Office deputies will simply obtain a map of the cameras and will not have access to any live streaming capabilities. The registry makes it easier for investigators to contact camera owners by using a digital media request. These requests can be completed by the owner without requiring a police visit.
Can the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office remotely access my cameras at any time?
No. Registering cameras means the police department will know where your cameras are located in case in the event of a crime or a critical incident. There is no direct access to any privately-owned cameras and the registry is only used to request footage if an incident were to occur in their vicinity.
Who has access to the camera map?
Only authorized Vigo County Sheriff’s Office users have access to the entire camera registry map in their jurisdiction.
Can I unsubscribe from the camera registry, and change or delete my information?
Yes. When registering cameras, a password protected profile for the owner will be set up. When logged in, editing or deleting information is available at any time.
Is my camera information subject to a disclosure in a public data request?
No. Your camera registry data is classified as protected non-public data, and is only accessible by authorized users of our system.
Can my cameras be accessed without my knowledge?
No. Both the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office and Polaris registration policies require the camera owner to give explicit written permission to access registered cameras for any reason. Camera access and settings are also entirely controlled by the camera owner.
Will facial recognition technology be used?
Camera registration does not employ facial recognition technology or integrate with any facial recognition technology systems.
Does Camera registration utilize artificial intelligence?
Camera registration utilizes artificial intelligence to rapidly search video provided to the system by users in order to mitigate criminal activity. All AI use cases exclude facial recognition, but may be utilized to automatically recognize weapons, vehicles of interest, etc.
Is Camera registration Secure?
The Polaris camera registration platform that the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office will use to compile all relevant information in one place, adheres to the highest standards of security for access to, transfer, and sharing of Criminal Justice Information according to CJIS standards. All data that is accessible within the Polaris registration is encrypted at rest, in transit, and in its cloud hosted location. Access to databases is restricted by strict networking rules. All Camera registration Employees involved in CJIS-related software development undergo an extensive screening process, including background checks and fingerprinting.
Register a Camera
The above link will redirect you to a form where you will be able to register your camera(s). The Getting Started section provides a brief overview of what your camera(s) may be used for any privacy issues. Please make sure to read the full terms of service to gain full details before moving forward. After you have understood the terms, click the checkbox and click "Get Started."
You will move on to the next section where you can fill out your profile if you are a new user or click on the "Sign In" button if you are a returning user. Please fill out all of the information the form asks for. After filling in your email or phone number, a button will appear in the box to send a verification code. Please pick your preferred method to receive the verification code by filling in the text box and clicking its "Send Code" button (you only need to do one). After you have received the verification code, enter it into the newly appeared Confirmation Code box and click "Confirm." If the code was verified successfully, you can now click on the "Submit" button to register your account.
The next section is the "Location" section and it will show your entered address on Google Maps to ensure it is the correct one. If it is not correct, then you can hit the back arrow in the bottom left to return to the last section and enter a new address. After ensuring that the address is correct, confirm whether your address is a Residential or Business address. If it is a Business address, then you will be asked to provide a location name.
The final section is where you will enter all of your camera information. Once you have filled out all of the required information, click the "Submit" button in the bottom right. If registration was successful, then a Registration Complete Notice will appear.