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More Washington police departments using Ring doorbell cameras to solve crimes

Four police departments in Washington are collaborating with Ring, the company that sells security cameras.

Edgewood Police Chief Micah Lundborg is showing off a recent success story involving a home security camera. 

The incident happened in January when a doorbell camera captured a man on a bike approach the front door, grab a package, and ride off.

Chief Lundborg said because of a partnership with Ring cameras, the homeowner was able to share the video on an app.

"They showed they had a package stolen. They actually had two packages stolen the same night," said Lundborg.

Another Edgewood resident saw it and told police they recognized the man because their surveillance camera captured him riding by with the package in hand a short time later. That information helped lead police to the suspect. A search warrant was served, and the stolen item was found, according to police.

"This is just a tool out there for law enforcement and citizens to communicate and share information to help solve crimes," said Lundborg.

In July 2019, Edgewood was the first police department in Washington state to collaborate with Ring and join the company's Neighbors app. The Clarkston Police Department in Eastern Washington followed. In recent weeks, Yakima and Kent police departments joined, too.

Jennifer Lee is the Technology and Liberty manager at the ACLU of Washington, and she said sharing security surveillance in this way raises privacy concerns.

"Ring cameras blur the line between public and private surveillance," said Lee.

Lee is currently tracking the face surveillance moratorium and data privacy bills in Olympia. She wants more legislation because she says the cameras could exacerbate concerns about face surveillance technology.

"A really important bill for us is the face surveillance moratorium bill because of the race and gender biases inherent in current facial recognition technology," said Lee. "We're increasingly concerned about the use of surveillance technologies like Ring, which law enforcement can use footage from and use it in combination with face surveillance to track people, which chills people's civil liberties."

Chief Lundborg said they only take information people are willing to share, and he said it has helped them solve crimes.

"As criminals evolve in their technological savvy, and how they commit their crimes, it only seems to make sense for law enforcement continue to evolve," said Lundborg.

RELATED: Fast-growing web of doorbell cams raises privacy fears

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