TAMPA, Fla. — Thousands of people around the Tampa Bay area have gone high-tech when it comes to their doorbell and surveillance systems around their own homes.
But now, the Ring and gadgets like it have been getting some criticism that might have people weighing whether that sense of security is worth it
For Kristen Barron, it’s a “yes”.
“It’s so worth it just to have the peace of mind,” said Barron after her system captured video she then shared with cops of a porch pirate swiping a package.
“I’m just thankful that we have it and it’s a way for us to show them exactly what happened,” Barron said.
“It’s very valuable to our detectives,” said Tampa police spokesman Steve Hegarty.
Tampa, Clearwater and Bradenton police and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office are just some of the agencies that have joined the Ring App network which encourages people to upload and share images of people in their neighborhoods.
Hegarty says in some cases the home surveillance systems might also speed up response times if they can visually confirm a crime in progress. But in the vast majority of cases, he says, detectives are working with video submitted well after a crime has occurred.
“I can’t tell you how many crimes we solve based on video,” said Hegarty.
But recently, the Ring system has been coming under fire from critics, including a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union who called it an “unmitigated disaster” when it comes to privacy. Others contend it creates a disproportionate suspicion of minorities.
Ring, which is a subsidiary of Amazon, has also been questioned for appearing to leverage its relationship with police departments to increase sales. In some cases, the company has subsidized the cost of the cameras in some regions.
“Amazon is profiting off of fear,“ said Chris Gilliard, a professor at Michigan’s Macomb Community College. They sell the cameras in neighborhoods “where the fear of crime is more real than the actual existence of crime,” he said.
For some local residents, like Sharon McRae, privacy concerns have been an issue.
“I don’t like all the interconnectivity right now because they haven’t protected the consumers, in my opinion, as far as hacking goes and privacy,” she said.
Lee Boeppler doesn’t have a system but says plenty of his friends do.
“We also have a right to protect what is ours. And I feel like if you put yourself in that space, you’ve made yourself available for potentially being recorded,” said Boeppler.
In the past, Ring itself has suggested the products are part of the very reason crime has declined in some neighborhoods.
“What we’re seeing now is that as more people know about this technology, would-be burglars leave the property before even trying to if they know that they’re on camera or they think that someone might be home,” said August Cziment, Ring’s operations director.
Despite any privacy concerns or marketing criticisms, Ring and similar products continue to be among the hottest consumer items out there. And law enforcement continues to be among its top cheerleaders.
“We encourage people to get surveillance cameras,” said Hegarty. “I think it only helps us solve crimes, but if you’re a smart criminal you probably don’t want to be caught on video.”
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