Officials in Dubuque, Iowa, are considering linking security camera networks owned by the city of Dubuque, Dubuque County and Dubuque Community Schools with the goal of helping first responders during emergencies.
According to KCRG, there are more than 1,000 cameras used for surveillance across the city and county, and the three entities are working together to create a plan and build the infrastructure to create a helpful tool for law enforcement.
“We can take advantage of a lot of the investments the city has already made in cameras, already made in fiber optics, and really leverage a lot of those investments to make these kinds of things happen,” said Chris Kohlmann, Information Services Manager for the City of Dubuque. “So we’ve set ourselves on a path that makes this very possible to happen.”
Ideally, 911 operators would be able to access the system’s cameras in real time.
The Dubuque Police Department released a statement to TV9, saying “our traffic city cameras have been an extremely valuable tool for us in many of our investigations,” adding “this type of real time information can enhance our police response to certain situations.”