Operation Private Eyes

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

03-18-2022-Independence Kansas- Independence Police hope the community will provide leads and help close cases by providing officers with privately owned surveillance footage.  That’s why the local police are announcing their new program, Operation Private Eyes. 

The program’s purpose is for citizens to volunteer video footage from business or private security cameras when there is a crime in their area.  “It doesn’t cost anything to register your camera and anyone in town, business or residential can register their camera,” says Chief Jerry Harrison.  

 Anyone who volunteers to participate in the program will be contacted by police when there is a crime in their vicinity.   Officers will request footage from the owner of the camera at that time. “We have had high profile cases where citizens realized they captured valuable footage and came forward with it, without a registry we may never know who might have footage that can solve a crime,” Harrison said.

 Operation Private Eyes is another opportunity for the community to build relationships with police and make a difference for their neighbors.  “We recognize that we need our citizens’ help to be a successful police department,” Harrison said.  

To register your camera, forms are available by email from jerryh@independenceks.gov or at the police station.

Community Camera Program

Do you currently utilize private video surveillance at your home or business? If you do, we'd like to hear from you.

Video surveillance is one of the best methods for apprehending criminals and convicting suspects caught in the act of committing a crime. If you have private video surveillance IPD would like to partner with you in serving our community. By registering your camera with us, if a crime has occurred in your area IPD can contact you and ask you to look at your footage to see if your camera picked up any part of the crime. If it did, you could have vital information and we would like you to share it with us to help catch criminals and keep Independence safe.


Frequently Asked Questions

Will the department have access to my cameras remotely or be able to view the footage without my knowledge?

No, Officers can only view the footage once a citizen has viewed it and chosen to share it with officers.

Will the department use or share my personal information for anything besides requesting footage?

No, the department will only contact you about your cameras if a crime or incident being investigated occurred near you. Your information will remain confidential.

Am I obligated to sign up for the program or turn over my footage? Do I have to pay a fee to sign up?

The program is 100% free and voluntary, you are not obligated to release footage, even if you sign up for the program. If at any time you decide to no longer be part of the program you can contact the department and your information will be removed from the program.