More than 400 police agencies across the country are partnering with Amazon's home surveillance company "Ring."
The partnership lets police see where all the Ring cameras in a given neighborhood are located so they know who to contact to request footage. It's causing controversy because people are worried about their privacy and the fact that a huge surveillance network is being controlled by a private company.
"Think about this: If every single home has one of these cameras, [Amazon> is going to build a massive, one of the world's largest, surveillance video systems," said Michael Garfield, the High Tech Texan. "People may not know what information they can and can't give away."According to the terms of service, the company has the right to give recorded videos to law enforcement, if it's necessary to comply with a government request.Amazon has published an interactive map where you can check whether your hometown cops are part of the network.
In Texas, there are 50 police and sheriff's departments:Amarillo PDLubbock PDSan Angelo PDSan Antonio PDHays County Sheriff's OfficeAustin PDWilliamson County Sheriff's OfficeKileen PDBelton PDCorpus Christi PDAransas Pass PDBryan PDTyler PDDallas-Fort Worth Area:Parker County Sheriff's OfficeAzle PDBurleson PDRiver Oaks PDFort Worth PDNorth Richland Hills PDRichland Hills PDColleyville PDGrand Prairie PDDeSoto PDIrving PDDallas PDUniversity Park PDDenton County Sheriff's OfficeCorinth PDFlower Mound PDCoppell PDFarmers Branch PDCarrollton PDThe Colony PDFrisco PDRichardson PDPlano PDAllen PDSachse PDMesquite PDBalch Springs PDCelina PDHouston Area:Conroe PDShenandoah PDFort Bend Constables OfficeMissouri City PDPearland PDBellaire PDWest University Place PDPasedena PDDeer Park PD