Johnson County Sheriff Wants You to Join Operation Watchdog

If you have video surveillance outside your home or business the Johnson County Sheriff wants you to join Operation Watchdog. Operation Watchdog is a program that encourages residents and businesses to register their privately owned home / business video surveillance system with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. If there is a crime that occurs near your business or home, the sheriff's office may contact you to see if there was any video recorded that may be valuable to their investigation.

According to the Johnson County Sheriff's website, "Law Enforcement recognizes that crimes can be committed at any place or time and that home/business video surveillance may have captured vital footage that could help solve crimes in our community.  During a criminal investigation, officers are often unaware of the many residences and businesses that have surveillance systems which may have captured footage of value to the investigation.  Having knowledge of the location of a surveillance system in the area could be instrumental in a successful resolution"

Joining Operation Watchdog lets the Johnson County Sheriff's Office know you have video surveillance and are willing to work with the police should they ever think your surveillance equipment may have captured video that could help solve a crime. Joining Operation Watchdog helps the sheriff's office in the following ways: "It expedites the retrieval of footage from surveillance systems close to the crime scene which may have recorded criminal activity.  It also reduces the number of officers assigned to canvass the area around a crime scene looking for operational surveillance systems."

Here's how it works: You register with the sheriff's office and tell them where your video cameras are located. The sheriff's office confirms your information. Then, the sheriff office may contact you if they think your camera may have caught something that can help them solve a crime. Also remember, the police will NOT have the ability to tap into any home or business video surveillance feeds. Participation is 100% voluntary and your personal information will be kept personal.

For more information on Operation Watchdog, or to help the sheriff bust some bad guys by registering your cameras, click here.