Reposted from krqe.com

It’s no secret Albuquerque has a crime problem. Now the city is doing something about it, using security cameras as their weapons.

The plan is to combine security cameras from business owners and residents into one large database, allowing law enforcement to keep a better eye on the city.

For some business owners, there’s still some questions about the new initiative.

“I came in on Sunday morning approximately at 10:00 a.m., to discover that my barbecue pit had been missing,” said Daniel Morgan, the owner of Peppers Ole Fashion Barbecue on San Pedro.

In his nine years at that location, he had only experienced minor thefts, until this weekend.

“I just felt very agitated and frustrated,” said Morgan.

Morgan has a security camera, but unfortunately it didn’t catch the criminal.

“Today we are announcing the SCAN system, which stands for Security Camera Analytical Network,” said Mayor Richard J. Berry.

The Mayor’s Office, prosecutors, and law enforcement are joining forces to find a better way to not only deter crime, but catch the bad guys when they do strike.

It allows homeowners and business owners to put their security cameras in the city’s database.

“Use the collective resources of this community and bring people together to try and join and fight crime against this community,” said District Attorney Raul Torrez.

The network will help police be more efficient when working to solve crimes so they don’t have to spend so much time hunting down surveillance video.

It’s an idea that Morgan is willing to participate in, but he still worries about response time. The Albuquerque Police Department has admitted it is overwhelmed.

“If the database is set up with the city and the authorities, when they are contacted they can act. That’s the only benefit in my eyes,” said Morgan.

Mayor Berry says the new system won’t decrease response times, but it will allow the officers to be better informed.

“If you’re tied into the Real Time Crime Center, information that those officers can get potentially on the way to the call,” said Mayor Berry.

The Mayor wants to emphasize for homeowners who are concerned about their privacy, officers will only have access to your home video when a crime is committed and they can’t watch it live.

Business and homeowners who want to register their cameras can do so on the city’s website.

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