Tell City Police want residents to register home security systems

TELL CITY, IN (WFIE) - Many people have installed their own home security systems.

Michelle O’Malley has a camera right by her front door.

“I have alerts. Every time someone walks on my porch, my phone vibrates and it tells me who is on my porch,” says O’Malley.

The Tell City Police Department wants to know who has security cameras like O’Malley. That is why they have set up a link on their website so people can register their home security systems [CLICK HERE to register your home security system].

All of the information is kept confidential, and those registered will only be contacted if officers need to take a look.

“You know, it is not to take control of their systems, it just to ask for them to assist us,” says Tell City Chief of Police Derrick Lawalin.

Chief Lawalin says many crimes are often left on foot, especially in residential neighborhoods. Having a database of security cameras, can help catch the suspect.

“So if we know where there might be some security cameras along that route, we can reach out to those folks and see if they happened to have captured an image of our suspect,” says Lawalin.

Not only will this increase security, but Chief Lawalin hopes this program can create a strong relationship with the community.

“As much as the police department would love to take credit for the community that we have, it is far bigger than that. It is the citizens that make our community safe. When we have them on board with us and working with us, we see much better results," says Lawalin.

Copyright 2018 WFIE. All rights reserved.