Daytona Beach, FL - The Daytona Beach Police Department has teamed up with a global home security company in the hopes of gaining more access to information it can use to put criminals behind bars.
DBPD's partnered with Ring to create a "digital neighborhood watch" for the city through a free phone app called Neighbors.
Sergeant Tim Ehrenkaufer, part of the agency's Advanced Technology and Cyber Unit, hopes that it'll help crack down on crimes.
"Users can go on and report crime," Ehrenkaufer added. "They can submit video of things happening in their neighborhood through the cameras at their house."
From there, DBPD has the ability to contact users and get more details.
Just because you have a Ring camera doesn't mean police can access it automatically. You have to give police your express permission, according to Ehrenkaufer, and he thinks it can be quite handy for vehicle and home break-ins.
"We had a rash of car breaks [recently], so the next morning, we logged into the Ring platform and we were able to create a flyer saying that you should lock your vehicle and secure your valuables," Ehrenkaufer said. "We were able to put out some more information to try to educate the public and help people keep their cars safe."
The area he's referring to is a block of apartment complexes along Jimmy Ann Drive, just north of Volusia Mall.
Click here to learn more about the program, which is available to anyone, even those who don't have a Ring system at home.
The Ring Neighbors app can be downloaded on iPhone or Android devices through the App Store or the Google Play Store, respectively.
