LISBON — Lisbon police are launching a security camera registration program in hopes it will help residents and businesses fight crime.
“With the significant increase in the use of personal and commercial security cameras, there is the increased probability that your cameras have captured video of a person or vehicle that has been involved in a crime without even knowing it,” the police department’s announcement states on its social media page. “The information that you provide is only shared with law enforcement personnel and will never be released publicly.”
Lisbon Detective Sgt. William Tapley got the idea from a Maryland police department that had a similar registration program.
More security cameras in the hands of consumers work as a deterrent to crime, Tapley said. It also may help police solve crime within their own neighborhood. It can be any type of camera, from game cams to the doorbell cameras that link to smart phones.
“I’ve solved numerous crimes with people’s home and business surveillance,” he said. “Bank robberies, hit and runs — a lot of different crimes.”
Lisbon Police Chief Marc Hagan said he was supportive of the idea when Tapley brought it to him.
“We have used video camera footage to assist in numerous investigations over the past year ranging from criminal mischief complaints to a reported sex assault investigation,” Hagan said. “So we don’t really see this as a tool only for theft cases.”
Tapley said police will not tap into someone’s home system. The program is completely voluntary and allows police to contact participants and ask permission to view their camera footage.
While the department often works with businesses in town with security cameras, the registry will give police more tools and could help police identify key clues faster.
“We’re not saying run out and buy a camera,” Tapley said. “We want people to do what they feel comfortable with.”
A security camera registration form can be downloaded from the police department page on the town website, lisbonme.org. Anyone with questions can contact Tapley at wtapley@lisbonme.org.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less