Today, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced the official launch of its latest public safety initiative – a “Real Time Crime Center in the Cloud” platform designed to provide critical and actionable information that speeds up investigations and emergency response to help keep residents and businesses safer.
Powered by Fusus, the new platform includes a camera registry – an online portal for citizens to register their security cameras in order to help solve crimes in the community. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is hoping that citizens–whether in private homes or businesses and public agencies–will register their cameras and help create a community-wide public safety ecosystem.
By setting up a voluntary camera registration process, the need for door-to-door canvassing is eliminated and valuable time can be used elsewhere. This partnership with the community lets Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Investigators know almost immediately if video evidence might be available at a particular location and who to contact to retrieve it.
Registering a camera with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is quickly and easily done through the self-service portal at https://connectflaglercounty.org/.
Both residential and commercial property owners and businesses are invited to register their security cameras. Registrant information and any video files provided will be kept confidential and only used in the event of a criminal investigation or emergency incident.
Camera registration does not give live video access to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. It only gives FCSO camera location information for use when an incident occurs. Investigators will contact camera owners only if they need assistance collecting camera footage. In the event of a theft, for example, the Sheriff’s Office may request footage to quicken the process of evidence gathering.
“Continuing to build a real partnership between our residents and businesses and our Sheriff’s Office is the key to a successful public safety strategy,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “This new platform will enable us to operate more efficiently to create a safer community for our residents and replaces our prior Silent Guardian program. I strongly urge all the security camera owners in the community to take part in this fantastic new program and let’s take a bite out of crime together on the ground and in the cloud!”
In addition to the camera registry, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is offering residents the option to upgrade their video security systems to include live video feeds to the agency. By installing a small CORE device on their network, residents and businesses can share live video feeds with the Sheriff’s Office in emergencies to improve employee safety and police response.
To preserve privacy, live video can optionally be shared only on alert, using a smartphone app or manual trigger button, at the camera owner’s discretion. This upgrade can be requested following the camera registration process online. It is important to understand that FCSO will not monitor security camera feeds at all times and no security expectations of your property are implied. Under this enhanced feature cameras would only be accessed in the event of a crime or after you authorize a link.
The new Fusus technology platform unifies public and private video feeds and combines them with a host of new functionalities designed to streamline and enhance the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s law enforcement capabilities. This includes 911 and Computer-Aided-Dispatch (CAD) integration, deputy geolocation, and the ability to pull multiple types of data, including gunfire detection sensors to body camera footage, all into a single map-based interface.
To register a camera with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office or to upload a video directly to investigators, please visit https://connectflaglercounty.org/ and follow the instructions.
Lizbeth Alberts says
I think this security camera video linked with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, is fabulous. It cuts down like you said on Manpower losing time taking care of the crime that occurred by going door to door and also a better perspective on who it was or who they were and what they look like what they were wearing just everything. I also read where you were doing the 911 emergency on the phone to either text you back and forth with the phone if you cannot speak at the time or to call you and let you know what’s going on and be able to take a photo of what’s happening at that time as far as a crime committed or something such as a fire and be able to show you without having to even send it to you. I’d like to know how do I get that linked onto my phone? I’d really like to inquire about that and load it down onto my cell phone as far as being able to text back and forth with you directly or show you if there is a crime committed or something’s going on. I think everything you’re doing protecting all of us and the businesses wonderful. Long time coming. Thank you for serving thank you for putting your lives on the line to help us and keep us safe and secure.
Concerned Citizen says
No Thanks.
Palm Coast intersections are chocked full of “surveillance cameras” and LPR’s (License Plate Readers) And now Staly want’s access to your Ring cameras. Way to much big brother for me. And I’m retired Public Safety and support what they do. This is overstepping to the extreme.
Imagine you and your significant other have a home camera system. And are having “fun time” one night. Next thing you know a knock on the door and the handcuffs come out. Because you were recorded breaking some arcane law in the privacy of your own home.
If we continue to let the Sheriff get his way in this county he will be no better than the perp that got busted hiding cameras. The only difference here is you are letting him do it.
Ben Dover says
And when you need them to help you they don`t , some old fool in a Mustang on PC pkwy cuts in front of me no turn signal , I`m doing 45 trying to catch the light because I`ve already gotten stuck at 3 , this guy cuts RIGHT in front f me doing 5 miles an hr , no way I could have stopped so I whip around him and have to hit gas so I don`t clip the car in lane I was forced into t avoid hitting the guy that cut me off , but then the light changes at that exact moment I mean it just turned yellow , normally people that close to intersection go thru the yellow light , but our lights were altered during red light cam scam ,yellow light time cut in half , so people jam n brakes now at yellow light , so I couldnt stop ,I pointed out the car that caused accident before they loaded me into ambulance , but no one even spoke to the guy , the camera`s would show he was at fault , now I have no vehicle and am in a world of pain and the guy that caused it gets to go about his life while he destroyed mine , so much for living in 1980.
Skibum says
I’m in! As soon as I finish typing this comment, I plan on registering my home’s security cameras to be viewed by FCSO investigators in the event of a crime near my house. In fact, the security camera on the front of my house pointing to the driveway and street was once previously reviewed per a request by a deputy a few years ago when they were investigating a vandalism incident that occurred across the street. This registry may help limit the manpower that was previously required to walk around looking for possible security cameras, so it is a win for law enforcement and a win for residents and businesses in our county.
Michael Cocchiola says
And this differs from red light cameras… how?
BW says
I am on the fence with this. I understand the concept and see some benefit with registering having cameras. But a huge NO to installing a device that provides a government agency access to my network and devices.
Simon says
So the sheriff wants the FPC citizens to help him create a surveillance state? What is wrong with good old fashioned police work? If I have a camera that might of caught video of a crime, I can offer it to the police, or they can ask to see any video I may have at a certain time. We citizens can hardly move without being tracked already. We have LPRs and then there is this: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/08/fog-revealed-guided-tour-how-cops-can-browse-your-location-data
emily says
Very Orwellian.
Amazon already hands Ring Doorbell video data over to police without owners permission.
B says
Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither – Benjamin Franklin
Simon says
And yet, judging by other comments, there are plenty of people in Palm Coast who are ready to sacrifice freedom immediately. Our forefathers are spinning in their graves. This is not what they sacrificed so much for.
atbp says
This sounds like a great tool to help solve crimes quickly. Thank you FCSO for staying on the cutting edge of technology to keep us safe. A little off topic, but I would like to see the Sheriff hold another Kicks 4 Guns event. I believe the last one was in 2018. We have had a tremendous amount of people move to this county since then and I am sure the amount of weapons turned in would be surprising.
cgm says
“Electric Eye”
Up here in space
I’m looking down on you
My lasers trace
Everything you do
You think you’ve private lives
Think nothing of the kind
There is no true escape
I’m watching all the time
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Always in focus
You can’t feel my stare
I zoom into you
But you don’t know I’m there
I take a pride in probing all your secret moves
My tearless retina takes pictures that can prove
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Electric eye, in the sky
Feel my stare, always there
There’s nothing you can do about it
Develop and expose
I feed upon your every thought
And so my power grows
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
I’m elected electric spy
I’m elected protective, detective, Electric Eye!
JP
Steve says
Hit song
C’mon man says
Sheriffs office cannot just tap into your cameras and watch your live feed. This allows them to know where cameras are in palm coast so if something occurs they know where cameras are and can request the video. It eliminates the deputy driving all over the neighborhood looking for cameras freeing up valuable time. You can send the video to the sheriffs or they can request to view it on your system via a link. It dosent allow them to just tap in whenever they want to
Concerned Citizen says
Where did you get your information that 100% ensures us they cannot do this?
You put a lot of faith in an agency that relies heavily on electronic surveillance,
C’mon man says
It’s right there in the article. Sheriffs office just cannot tap into your cameras without permission.
Uncle Jesse says
The fear and naivety by those who are dumb enough to support this are aiding in the systematic erosion of our American values and Freedoms while putting us all at risk. If you have any questions in regards to how a sophisticated surveillance system can have on the psyche and privacy of law abiding citizens, please do some research beyond a law enforcement perspective. The Boss hogs and Rosco P. Coltranes of the world should not have been handed the keys to set up the equivalent of a dystopian fusion center repackaged as a “real time crime center.” The grid Stalin Staly created and fine-tunes year after year is not about solving crime in it’s entirety. Crime can be solved using traditional ways. For Staly and FCSO it’s about control and building a profile on the comings and goings of targeted citizens while simultaneously cherry picking which LPR hit and car vandal caught on Skibum’s camera best suits the next PR narrative to distract us from what’s really going on. It’s no secret that militias and extremists have penetrated law enforcement at an alarming rate. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to think these “tools” are not being used and abused to play rigged games while hiding behind a blue line draped in our American Flag. Wolves come in sheep’s clothing.
Skibum says
LOL, thank you for the mention but I don’t fear or feel naive about using the available technology that residents and businesses possess to help law enforcement solve crimes in Flagler County. My Ring doorbell camera and security camera system that surveils my home and property will still be mine to control. Images and videos will ONLY be shared with law enforcement if and when a deputy asks me for permission to view them in the event of a criminal investigation, and the fact that I registered my security cameras with FCSO does not in any way relinquish any personal or constitutional rights to “big brother”. The most important thing to remember as far as I am concerned is that we ALL must play an active role in keeping our communities safe. Law enforcement cannot possibly do their job without the support and involvement of the citizens who live and work here. In my 29-year law enforcement career, I cherished those who understood this concept and assisted in my determination to protect them, their families, and their communities. It is a collaborative effort that I continue to feel strongly about, and I am willing to be a good citizen rather than a naysayer.
Uncle Jesse says
“Images and videos will ONLY be shared with law enforcement if and when a deputy asks me for permission to view them in the event of a criminal investigation, and the fact that I registered my security cameras with FCSO does not in any way relinquish any personal or constitutional rights to “big brother”.
As law enforcement has proven time and time again, this is just another step.
“In addition to the camera registry, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is offering residents the option to upgrade their video security systems to include live video feeds to the agency.”
Once the latter becomes a free option and the public has swallowed the pill, there’s no going back. Though I suspect you already have experience in convincing the public to systematically buy into something.
“The most important thing to remember as far as I am concerned is that we ALL must play an active role in keeping our communities safe.”
Yes, by calling LE when we need them and abiding by the law ourselves while we’re going about our own private citizen business. The last time I checked, LE wasn’t too supportive of vigilantism. However, now that the George Zimmermans of the world have cameras to tap into? You get the idea.
“Law enforcement cannot possibly do their job without the support and involvement of the citizens who live and work here.” Yes they can actually.
“In my 29-year law enforcement career, I cherished those who understood this concept and assisted in my determination to protect them, their families, and their communities.”
Thank you for your service. This “concept” you speak of has now evolved. It has become extremely overreaching and will further disproportionately effect people of color or different standards of living.
If a crime occurs, there’s nothing wrong with a deputy knocking on the door of a homeowner who has a camera and asking for help to solve a crime. What is happening here is entirely different. Open your eyes people! Say NO to camera registry!
Skibum says
I understand your viewpoint, but the ONLY thing that is changing is pertaining to your last point. Traditionally, once a crime has occurred, a deputy or investigator will canvas a neighborhood seeking eyewitnesses as well as those who may have a video camera pointed toward the crime scene or street in an effort to capture the suspect or vehicle description. Sometimes that can be very labor intensive and takes up valuable time because it often requires multiple visits to the same neighborhood when residents are not home or businesses are closed. Imagine all that wasted effort just attempting to see if anyone has any relevant video of a crime when LE could instead check this new app to see who does in fact have cameras that have been registered (not taken over or accessed). That is all this new venture is. What it is NOT is some Orwellian transition into a “1984” type of big brother society. Those who are more afraid of this technological advancement than the criminals who always try to outwit the police in order to victimize people need do nothing. I will do my part to help protect you, even if you refuse to help protect me in return.
Uncle Jesse says
“I understand your viewpoint”
No I don’t think you do. You have no idea what it’s like to be a law abiding citizen sitting in a car rider line when a known trigger happy deputy spots you and lifts up his phone every single time to send a message to his psych goons waiting at the exit (O.K.E.) That’s just one example. Now imagine what a deputy like that would do having access to real time location information on live feeds as a targeted individual drives down the street. It’s not far fetched. Those cameras will be live feeds in due time once the option is free and cleverly packaged, trust me. Criminals or people suspect will not be the only ones targeted as LE has proven time and time again. Tech is great, but law enforcement should NOT have this kind if technology at their disposal considering the risky people (not all thankfully) who are attracted to the power the job invokes in the first place. It WILL be abused and used for the wrong purpose at some point and it’s simply not worth the risk to the general public at this point.
“I will do my part to help protect you, even if you refuse to help protect me in return.”
I would do the same by calling the police to protect you, despite your best efforts at gaslighting.
“Sometimes that can be very labor intensive and takes up valuable time because it often requires multiple visits to the same neighborhood when residents are not home or businesses are closed.”
That is their job, as it was yours!
Pogo says
@FlaglerLive
This “report” sounds more like the work of a corporate PR writer and/or a press release, than your writing. People who don’t know a core, from an edge, of a network, IMO, are being asked for a level of trust I, for one, don’t have.
I urge everyone to look before they leap. Start with this (about a 5 to 6 min read):
Policies and procedures?
https://comomag.com/2022/11/22/fusus-fails-for-now/
FlaglerLive says
It’s a release from the sheriff’s office. The disclosure/disclaimer appears at the top of the article.
Pogo says
@FlaglerLive
Because it didn’t start with the explicit (disclosure/disclaimer) before it; and because you’re scrupulous and consistent about placing releases in a clearly identified area on the right side column of the front page, I was unclear in my understanding.
No offense intended.
Concerned Citizen says
Just got done watching the remake of Spectre.
This has Nine Eyes in the making. Watch what you let this Sheriff get away with in this County. It won’t stop with the personal systems.
I can’t understand all the fervent support of this Wanna be NCIS Wyatt Earp. Who has to have multi million dollar buildings and an electronic blanket covering his jurisdiction. Time to get someone new. Who will do the job with less spending and show boating.
joseph hempfling says
TO SAY IT IN FEWEST WORDS POSSIBLE; WHEN YOU TRADE LIBERTY FOR SECURITY, YOU GET NEITHER! AND SO IT IS. IN SHORT A VERY BAD IDEA, ROLLED OUT AT A BAD TIME. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD FELLAS, PLEASE.
Laurel says
Oh HELL no!
Florida Girl says
I don’t think my weed man would appreciate that of me.
Laurel says
Think of all the men marking their territories! I keep telling hubby to be careful, China is watching.
Bruces says
i can see some advantages to this but i would not want to have them acess to my home for various not that i broke the law
but we make me feel i live in a communist country plus i dont see if this would get buy if some went to supreme court of your state
what a way for a person to fool around on there mate and get caught.
or they can pick up on your family discussions no i think i will pass thank u
if anything i will go back to ring install a alarm alert on my system for the 10.00 a month
Charles says
When you take it from my COLD DEAD HANDS
Shark says
I think China beat Staly to the draw !!!!
oldtimer says
It’s a VOLUNTARY system, Means you don’t have to do it, calm down people!
b says
lol they already have access to everything you do online lookup Edward Snowden for details. He blew the whistle but theres no protections for government whistleblowers. Crime rates been dropping here as we added more people each year and at least 20 new cops in the past few years. Republicans are proven morons. We dont need more surveillance we need less bans, less hate, and less morons running the show.
emily says
The Flagler County Sherriff is in partnership with Ring/Neighbors Cameras allowing for full access to household cameras with 0 warrants, since 2020. Also a FACES partnership allowing for instant facial recognition of 25+ million Florida drivers license photos.
You can verify this on https://atlasofsurveillance.org/
Bob says
The Flagler County Sheriff was also recently named on a list as being a member of the “Constitutional Sheriffs.” The list has since disappeared from the face of the internet. If anyone has the link, please publish. During the next election cycle interview, it is important for the voters of Flagler County to know who they are voting for and if a candidate running for a position as powerful as the Sheriff’s may harbor any extremist ideologies. Flagler Live should ask the question, “Are you or were you a member of the CSPOA and why?”
https://www.adl.org/resources/report/constitutional-sheriffs-and-peace-officers-association-cspoa-and-richard-mack-how