Cleveland Expands Voluntary Security Camera Sharing Program

Interested residents can register cameras online. Credit: Petras Gagilas / flickrcc

Mayor Justin Bibb and the Cleveland Department of Public Safety are urging residents and businesses with security cameras to enroll in the city’s Smart Safe CLE camera registry.

“Sadly, we continue to see unprecedented levels of violence plaguing our community. We are doing everything we possibly can to reverse these trends; however, we cannot do it alone and need help from everyone in our community,” said Bibb. “It’s our hope, by empowering residents and businesses to be part of the solution, that we’ll be able to save more lives together.”

The way Smart Safe CLE works is the locations of registered cameras are mapped so when an incident occurs “authorized city personnel” can determine if cameras in the vicinity have relevant footage. Personnel — meaning police, firefighters, emergency medical services and animal care and control — can then send electronic requests for the footage to camera owners. Upon receiving a request, camera owners will maintain final authorization for access to footage.

Camera owners that register can also opt to give Smart Safe CLE access to livestream capabilities.

“They can choose to just share only a live [feed], where there is no storage of it, or three days, where it would be stored and then it would just automatically be deleted and that is up to the person who signs the agreement with us,” said assistant safety director Nicole Carlton of the Department of Public Safety. “At any point they can cancel that if they want.”

Originally launched in March of 2021 as a pilot program when Cleveland hosted the NFL Draft, Smart Safe CLE started out with 350 cameras owned by the city, NFL, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and private partners. Today, nearly 2,000 cameras have been integrated into the program.

When the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office launched a similar program in 2016, the Cleveland ACLU said it had no issue with the program, so long as it remains voluntary.

The city will spend roughly $180,000 on the program annually, according to officials.

“This program, along with the expansion of ShotSpotter and addition of crime analysts to each district, is part of the all-encompassing technological approach to public safety we have embraced,” Bibb said. “We will continue to look for [innovative] ways to maximize technology to best ensure the safety of our residents. Doing so increases efficiency, decreases costs, and, most importantly, saves lives.”

Residents can register cameras for Smart Safe CLE online for free and don’t need any additional technology.

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