SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. -- The Sumter County Sheriff's Office wants to know which businesses and citizens have a security camera.
- 'Project Eagle Eye' creates database of security cameras
- The program is voluntary; deputies won't have direct access to cameras
Authorities are hoping they will register them so they can create a location database.
"If we have a crime that occurs we can quickly look up on the map database where the cameras are located so that we can do faster neighborhood canvasses and get to that information faster," said Major Chris Haworth with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.
Officials are calling it "Project Eagle Eye."
They say if a crime occurs near a registered camera, they will send a deputy to request the video.
Authorities say it could help them potentially identify and arrest a suspect sooner.
"They get a call about a robbery or something like that, they can go to the database and immediately start going to those cameras because those people could still be in the area," Haworth said.
Jocelyn Ramirez is the manager of Kylie's Closet Jewelry Boutique on Brownwood Boulevard in The Villages.
The store has more than half a dozen cameras, and she says it's helped the business in the past.
"We did have some theft going on. We caught her because we had a picture of her on the cameras, and we basically shared that around social media," Ramirez said.
Their cameras may also help the Sumter County Sheriff's Office -- the store is now participating in the project.
"You never know when or where a crime is going to be committed," Ramirez said.
The program is voluntary and the Sumter County Sheriff's Office will not have direct access to the camera.
To register a security camera, call 352-569-1695.