HERMITAGE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Police are promoting a fairly new tool they have that could help officers see and solve neighborhood crimes quicker.
Using technology from a company called Fusus, Metro Police have created Connect Nashville. Anyone in the public who is interested can give the police department a heads-up that they have a public-facing security camera. If a crime happens in a neighborhood with a camera on the database, police can reach out to the owner of the camera.
According to Metro Police, 881 cameras are registered. Only 6% or 50 registered cameras are sharing a live videocast with MNPD. That is an optional step. Those are considered integrated systems. Those who opt-in to allow police to look at their live-stream have to buy hardware and software that starts around $200.
On Saturday, Deja Chastain had her 2016 tan Dodge Charger stolen from her home in Hermitage. Because her neighbor had video of the incident, she knows what happened. She thinks access to private surveillance cameras has value.
"Everybody can look out for each other," Chastain said. You can read more about her case on her GoFundMe.
More than 100 cars have been stolen in Chastain's zip code this year. In Antioch zip code, 600 cars have been stolen so far.
A member of our NewsChannel 5 team was at a meeting on Tuesday night when an officer described how with their department being understaffed, the Connect Nashville program is like having more sets of eyes and ears.
