Sheriff's Office Creating Surveillance Camera Network

El PASO COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Surveillance video can prove an invaluable tool to help law enforcement catch criminals. Many homes and businesses have private security cameras, and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office wants to make better use of them.

It's creating a registry of home and business owners who have cameras that capture images of public spaces. The goal is to create a network of cameras in the community to quickly track down helpful video when a crime occurs.

"If you live on street 'A', and we're able to bring up street 'A' and see that there are four cameras on there, we can contact people even if they aren't home," said Sgt. Mitch Mihalko.

Adding your name to the registry does not give the Sheriff's Office access to your cameras. Deputies still have to get your permission to look at the video if they think it will help an investigation.

Right now the program is only in unincorporated El Paso County, but the Sheriff's Office hopes to expand it.