The Lexington Police Department is using the Fūsus platform to help integrate more technology into helping solve crimes.
“We’re taking an exciting step forward today that will make our community safer through technology,” Mayor Linda Gorton said in a statement. “Fūsus will enable us to solve crimes faster, support our officers, and strengthen the cases we take to court.”
The new platform is promised as a “real-time crime center in the clouds.” The company, formally known as SecuroNet, was founded in 2019 and is now the most widely used and trusted Real-Time Crime Center platform in U.S. Public Safety, according to Crunchbase.
Their system helps unify cameras and live videos for the police to use in investigative capacities.
“Whether it’s a UAV, a traffic camera, a private cell phone video, a building security camera, or a bomb disposal robot, Fūsus can extract the live video feed and send it to your emergency operations center and officers in the field,” Fūsus said.
In Lexington, they are making it available for businesses and residents to opt in and register cameras for free.
“Registering security cameras lets officers and detectives know a camera is in the area and could have footage if an incident occurs,” LPD said. “If an incident occurs, an investigator from the Lexington Police Department will contact the camera owner via email to look at the footage.”
This would be Level One of their plan. Level Two would allow businesses and residents to purchase a FūsusCORE device that would share live video with the RTIC.
“It is an investigative tool and a resource we can use to streamline emergency response and incident management with real-time information for our first responders,” Gorton said.
Fūtus usage has grown rapidly since it was introduced, and multiple government agencies have signed contracts with the company. However, the effectiveness has been mixed.
“The research into the relationship between surveillance cameras and crime is mixed – some studies show that the presence of cameras does result in less crime, while others suggest it merely displaces the activity,” Context News said in their article “Privacy or safety? U.S. brings ‘surveillance city to the suburbs.’”
Lexington Police Chief addressed some concerns in a press conference Fox 56 reported on.
“Technology does not replace good police work, but instead it is another tool for our officers and detectives that they can use for safer and more efficient investigations,” Weathers said.
Lexington police began using Fūsus on July 1st and the system has now almost been fully implemented.