By the end of the year, the Memphis Police Department will have quicker, direct access to surveillance footage from businesses that participate in a new public and private partnership.

If a crime, such as a robbery, burglary or aggravated assault, occurs at a business, investigators would be able to download surveillance footage directly from the business instead of going to the commercial owner to request the footage — something that can take hours, MPD says. 

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“We want access to these cameras so that if there were a bank robbery that when that call comes into our … system, the closest five cameras to that bank show up in that video integration center,” Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis said. “We want to use cameras real-time, as opposed to ‘Let me go over to the bank and get the footage and see who it was that robbed the bank yesterday.’”

About 60 of the city’s 2,100 cameras have live surveillance feeding to the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), and the rest can be accessed by downloading the footage. 

With the rollout of the partnership, the department hopes to expand its coverage to cameras owned by businesses in high-crime areas or critical infrastructure areas. 

As long as the camera connects, MPD can integrate them into their system. When the public and private partnership rolls out, the department will roll out details about what types or brands of cameras will be compatible. 

Businesses will cover the cost of compatible camera systems.

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“You can go to Costco and get a camera system there for $200,” said Major Byron Braxton, commander of the RTCC. “As long as it’s compatible and can communicate with the system, you can use it. It just depends on how much you are willing to invest in it, as long as it communicates with our system.” 

The cost of the Video Management System (VMS) used to integrate the cameras to the RTCC would be taken on by the city, but the amount has yet to be determined, MPD says.

SkyCop Inc. did not respond to requests for comment regarding the exact cost of their systems.

What is known is that the city’s 2,100 SkyCop cameras cost the city and neighborhood watch groups about $10.2 million, putting individual costs at about $5,000. 

The Memphis City Council also awards a $2,500 Neighborhood Watch Crime Prevention Grant to Neighborhood Watch groups every year for the purchase of cameras. This helps some of the most impoverished areas with the cost of surveillance systems.

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Although SkyCop Inc. no longer sells its merchandise to law enforcement agencies, according to an employee, MPD said it will continue to use its existing SkyCop cameras within its Blue Crush program. But it will also be looking for other companies.

“We’ll continue to have SkyCop infrastructure out there,” Davis said. “But we’re looking at what providers can really help … with a city as large as the city of Memphis — 340 square miles. What is the best company to provide the kind of New York City cameras that we might end (up using).”

Because Blue Crush cameras owned by the city emit a blue light, they deter crime, but criminals may move their activity elsewhere to avoid police-monitored cameras, Deputy Chief of Information Systems Joe Oakley said.

Now that businesses can choose their own security camera brands, which won’t have blue lights, they will be more likely to catch criminal acts on camera.

“Once we do that (partnership), people won’t know what cameras are in our program or not,” Oakley said. “We’re not going to advertise who has what because it’s going to be more covert instead of overt. And we think that’s going to be a big plus. Plus, the more cameras, the better.”

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In a report written in November, The Daily Memphian found that in 2020, with thousands of SkyCop cameras monitoring streets, the violent-crime rate was 2,351 per 100,000 — an increase of about 57% over 2010 and nearly six times the national average. 

“Sky Cops, I think, are more of a visible deterrent if anything,” Davis said. “The blue lights are a deterrent to some degree, but they are not magic. Some people say when you go into a community, ‘We’ve got SkyCop cameras everywhere. Why are we having crime here?’ SkyCop cameras are just a tool — an investigative tool.” 

The department also plans on expanding license plate readers in business areas, such as malls and other places criminals frequently drive through. Several apartment complexes and large stores like Walmart already have these.

These will scan and ping tags on the department’s hot list, including stolen cars, wanted persons, Amber Alerts, missing persons and vehicles of interest. Employees of RTCC will notify dispatchers, who will request police come out to the scene and locate the car.

“When you put license plate readers, those stolen cars get a ping,” Davis said. “You can go after that stolen vehicle. Most of the time, those stolen vehicles are being used for more serious crimes. That’s why license plate readers are really important to us.

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“But the misnomer … is that we don’t have a database full of the city’s license plates. What we have in our system … are license plates of vehicles that have been stolen. If you pass by and your car isn’t stolen, I’m not going to get a ping from you. I’m only going to get a ping or an alert from a vehicle that’s passing by that’s in the system that has been registered as stolen.”

Oakley said large businesses have already reached out and shown interest in the partnership program. 

“Several well-known businesses are very excited about it,” Oakley said. “And so are some of our neighbors, convenience stores, liquor stores, etc. And it will be open to anybody. We’re not going to turn anybody away because the main thing here is we want to keep our city safe, and we want to drop our crime. So this is a great tool in our toolbox.”

Business owners can choose which of the cameras in their systems they want integrated with MPD’s RTCC. For example, if a supermarket has 30 cameras, management might only choose to integrate cameras that film the parking lot, front doors or cash registers. 

“A business will choose what they want MPD to see,” Oakley said. “And what we can download is totally up to them. It’s their camera; we’re just able to monitor it or download it.”

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This summer, a string of burglaries occurred at roughly 40 liquor stores, including Buster’s Liquors & Wines, Natalie’s Liquor Warehouse, Kimbrough Fine Wine & Spirits and Joe’s Wines & Liquor. 

Sisco Larson, owner of Joe’s Wines & Liquor, said his store lost about $10,000 in cash and merchandise during the burglary that occurred July 6. 

According to a police report, thieves took $4,106 in cash from Joe’s, as well as merchandise, including two cases of Tito’s vodka, valued at $431, and cases of Clase Azul tequila, valued at $548.

Larson said he would consider integrating the store’s cameras with the police department’s RTCC as long as he could control who accesses the footage and when. He would rather worry about business matters than continually deal with the aftermath of theft crimes, which are common at liquor stores.

“If it was something that only happened when we reported crimes in the store, that would be something that would be awesome because there’s shoplifting that happens much more often than you would ever think, and it becomes an ordeal that gets in the way of us providing a better product for our customers,” Larson said.

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“I would rather be doing in-store tastings and showing you the beautiful wines of Italy and South Africa. And instead, I’m downloading video after video of people shoplifting vodka in giant purses or running out of the store with other stuff.”

He said he could see the partnership program being especially beneficial for busy retail establishments like Walgreens and convenience stores, making it easier for management to spend its time more efficiently. 

Larson said not only would the partnership save time for business owners, it could also save time for detectives, giving them more time to investigate crimes.

Facial recognition would not be used with any of the integrated cameras, MPD said. 

Law enforcement is not looking to integrate cameras located at residences yet. But eventually, MPD hopes to develop partnerships with residents, apartment complexes and neighborhood watch groups. 

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“Guidelines would be put in place to ensure no cameras would be installed that would invade the homeowner’s privacy,” Oakley said. 

Oakley said there are steps that need to be taken before the public and private partnership can go public, such as talking with legal advisers. 

“When Chief Davis became our new police chief, this was one of her priorities,” Oakley said. “So we’re still working feverishly on it to get it going by the end of the year.”

Oakley said more details will emerge when the partnership program is officially announced.