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Monthly Security Solutions for the Homeowner
October 2019 – Ring Ring, They See You!
We all know and love Amazon. Who else would deliver you packages on a Sunday for FREE! And then they purchase Ring in 2018, a video doorbell company who allows us to interact with the person dropping off the package from our phone while at the park. Awesome, RIGHT?
I see you, I have a picture of you, and I am making a glitter bomb for when you steal my stuff!
We all saw the video of the NASA guy who made the glitter bomb. Then it clicked. Who needs a neighborhood watch, we have Ring. Ring offered us the digital neighborhood watch with Ring Neighborhoods.
Ring is great! It helps us protect our neighborhood. It gives us peace of mind. We live happily.
But did you know that Amazon is now offering to share your cameras without you knowing it. It is part of their Neighbors app that allows Police Departments, over 400 as of this writing that have partnered with Ring to request footage from Ring devices. When a 911 call comes into a police department, the software that tells the officer where the call came from also tracks ring cameras in the area. The software plots the cameras on a map for future use. If the 911 call becomes something the officers need video for, they simply request it. The police have an easy button.
An officer can request video from one or more cameras. The owner(s) will receive an email asking for their permission to use the video. Answer yes to the email, Amazon releases your video to the police. Answer no, the video stays in the Amazon cloud and no one knows any different.
Now, as a former police officer, I think this is great! It is public-private partnerships made simple. Neighborhoods are sharing video, criminals are caught, and everyone is happy. Police departments can interact with specific neighborhoods or all neighborhoods to quickly provide information.
That’s all good?
Amazon makes sure that Ring owners know their privacy is paramount. They would never give out video you did not allow, unless served with a warrant. Amazon made sure they were protected. But are you? Is there a downside for you? Do you want the police to know you have cameras? You can allow or reject your cameras, but what about your neighbors?
On one hand, this may be the single best crime fighting tool the police have. On the other, is it allowing the police too much access into our daily lives?
A list of all departments that is continually updated can be found at https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1eYVDPh5itXq5acDT9b0BVeQwmESBa4cB&usp
As a neighborhood, do you have security for your neighborhood? Is your Home Owner’s Association ready to make the neighborhood safe, with or without Ring? Call or email ProTecht Solutions Partners for a security assessment that gives your HOA the easy button.