The programs include a bike index, voluntary security camera registry and a method of tagging property in case they’re stolen.
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A partnership between the municipality and Wood Buffalo RCMP hopes to help police identify and return stolen property, and record crimes across Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.
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The Community Assisted Policing Through Use of Recorded Evidence (CAPTURE) program is a voluntary registration of privately owned security cameras. Homes and businesses with security cameras would be registered with police to help with investigations.
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Police must contact the owners of the cameras and ask for the footage if they believe it’s useful. They will not have unlimited or live access to the footage.
“Everyone has a role in preventing crime,” said Nicole Chouinard manager of RCMP Support Services, in a municipal statement. “We want residents to take an active role in deterring crime and assisting us with crime prevention in their communities.”
Police and the RMWB are also distributing an invisible glue that tags property. The ProtechDNA adhesive has hundreds of microscopic dots that police can scan. Stolen items that are recovered can be quickly returned to owners if they are tagged properly.
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Chouinard says most stolen property that is recovered by police is never claimed because there is no way to identify the true owners.
“Almost anything can be tagged: from boats to cellphones,” said a municipal statement.
Police are also encouraging people to register bicycles with their Bike Index. This program was introduced last summer. More than 30 stolen bicycles were recovered last summer, but they were not registered and police had trouble reuniting them with their true owners.
The RMWB has more information about these programs online.
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