Watch camera maps help police scan crimes

The national database of surveillance camera maps is used to store location data of surveillance cameras as well as contact details of surveillance camera owners, said a press release of the National Police Board.

The data will be collected with the permission of camera owners.

The surveillance camera maps are now being used across the police service. Developed for the police, customs and the Border Guard, the database of surveillance camera maps is a platform for storing the location data of surveillance cameras installed in public spaces.

“The purpose of the map database is to help the staff of police departments to best utilise the network of existing surveillance cameras and the improved picture quality. With the map database and the stored contact details, the police can get visual footage of suspected crimes more quickly,” said National Police Board Chief Superintendent Pekka Sallinen.

Presence of surveillance cameras can now be determined when an offence is reported.

The police ask owners of surveillance camera equipment to join the efforts to expand the map database.

“Our goal is to get the majority of surveillance cameras in Finland recorded in the map database. This will speed up police investigations, since the police will no longer need to first find out if there is any camera surveillance at the scene of the crime. With the map database, this can be determined when the crime is reported, which also means that the footage stored in the surveillance systems is less likely to have been destroyed by the time the police can investigate it,” Sallinen said.

Sallinen, however, said that the map database does not give the police access to the operating systems of cameras. Moreover, submitting information to the map database is voluntary.

“Police departments will contact owners of surveillance camera systems by sending an official request to have their surveillance system included in the map database,” Sallinen said.

Owners of surveillance cameras can submit, modify or remove their information by contacting the police at email addresses available on the police website.