The Surrey RCMP is looking for help from residents and businesses. A new initiative was launched on November 22 called Project IRIS (Integrated Resources for Investigation and Safety) which allows residents and businesses to proactively contribute to their city’s safety.
Project IRIS is a voluntary program in which residents and businesses register the location of their closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in a secure, online database. The initiative will help police gather evidence more efficiently by reducing the time it takes to track down security cameras after an incident.
Registration is completely voluntary and participants can withdraw at any time. The registry only records the location of security cameras; no video footage is collected and the information in the database is secure and can only be accessed by authorised city staff.
Registration does not give the Surrey RCMP or the city access to cameras or its recordings, but helps to find camera owners in the event of an incident in the area. If you are contacted, you can still choose whether or not to share your recordings. The Project IRIS program was reviewed by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the city is committed to protecting the privacy of those registering on the database in accordance with applicable privacy legislation.
The footage recorded by your camera may be the missing piece that helps the Surrey RCMP solve a crime committed in the community.