The Connect Dallas program, announced April 20, allows residents and business owners to register their cameras with DPD through an online portal, building a camera map that will be used by law enforcement in investigations or emergency scenarios. Compatible cameras can also be opted into a “fully integrated” program, which grants law enforcement access to a live feed of footage in the event of emergencies.
But privacy advocates have criticized the platform’s role in increasing police surveillance, claiming that resources such as a camera map can lead to individuals inadvertently building up evidence against themselves without realizing. Lawsuits like a 2023 case involving an Ohio man who was forced to hand over footage from 13 personal security cameras to police — all for an investigation he was not involved in — have exposed the blurred line between privacy and security.
According to Dallas police spokesperson Kristen Lowman, camera owners who opt into the integrated program will be able to set permissions through the portal that outline when and how cameras may be accessed by law enforcement.
Since the program was launched, 301 cameras have been registered and an additional 80 have been fully integrated.
“The police work is not going to stop. Our detectives and our officers will still investigate, still go door to door,” Lowman said. “But this can supplement that.”
How It Works
Dallas is the latest city to sign up for law enforcement support from Fusus, a real-time crime center platform that offers a buffet of surveillance assistance, from creating live video streaming dashboards to mapping public and private security cameras.Connect Dallas will enable investigators to see nearby cameras through the registration map when a crime takes place, and individuals who register a camera may receive an email from DPD requesting access to video footage if a crime takes place nearby. Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn chairs the council’s public safety committee, which was briefed twice on Connect Dallas. She registered her home’s security cameras with the program the day it launched.
“It was quick and easy,” she said. “It can take a long time for officers to contact each possible neighbor or business for this information, especially when the person isn't home or employee isn't at work, and the officer is faced with repeatedly visiting the location to try to talk with them. This is modern policing and an efficient use of detectives' time.”
Mendelsohn said she will be promoting the program to District 12 residents to encourage more people to register their cameras.
Registering a camera for the map is free, but integrating a camera to allow live footage requires a FususCORE device that can cost the camera owner between $350 and $7,300, depending on the number of cameras hooked up to the system. An additional yearly subscription is required after the first year of use.
Any type of camera can be linked to the system, from city-owned or public school cameras to CCTVs or Ring doorbell cameras.
Fusus uses artificial intelligence to search through video footage, the company’s website says, although facial recognition technology is not employed. Instead, the system is trained to recognize weapons or vehicles that may be relevant to a case.
“The police work is not going to stop. Our detectives and our officers will still investigate, still go door to door. But this can supplement that.” — Kristen Lowman, Dallas Police spokesperson
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Arlington launched its own Connect program in January and partnered with Fusus for camera registration and camera integration options similar to Dallas'. So far, Arlington has had 930 cameras registered for the camera map and 249 integrated.
The program will connect officers in the department’s APD Real Time Crime Center with registered participants in an area surrounding a criminal event or emergency via email. The email will provide a link for any relevant surveillance footage to be uploaded.
According to Arlington police spokesperson Tim Ciesco, the integrated, live surveillance option is “only recommended for commercial partners” interested in further securing their businesses or complexes, and keeping privacy in mind is a priority.
“We do express to [owners] that the feeds we are primarily interested in are the ones that cover public-facing areas,” Ciesco said. “So, for example, if an apartment complex wanted to integrate their system, we might recommend that they grant us access to cameras that cover their parking lots, but not their pool area.”
Potential Privacy Concerns
Although Fusus does not publicize how many police departments are using its software, Reuters reported that more than 70 cities across a dozen states had either a police department or a school district operating the technology in early 2023.For the most part, Fusus has partnered with police departments in smaller cities or suburbs. The company’s website lists testimonials from satisfied law enforcement agencies in Starkville, Mississippi; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Oxford, Alabama, among others.
Dallas marks a “departure” from Fusus’ regular target, said Albert Fox Cahn, founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project in New York, and the city marks a shift in the “disturbing trend” of “questionable” surveillance technology becoming the norm across American law enforcement agencies.
“When you have these opaque, expansive, real-time crime centers gathering information about our lives, aggregating it and feeding it to police outside the court process, it’s something that is open to error, misinterpretation and abuse,” Fox Cahn told the Observer. “I think it just shows that this is a market where people are continuing to try and sell their product to anyone who will take it, regardless of whether it’s a good fit.”
Police using home surveillance cameras for investigations is no new trend. In January, the maker of the popular home security camera Ring doorbell began requiring law enforcement officers to obtain a warrant before turning over home security footage for investigations. Before that policy went into effect, police were able to request footage directly from the company or submit a warrant if their request was not met.
Between July and December of 2023, Ring reports receiving 2,061 warrants for footage, up from 536 in 2019. The number of warrants the company has received since the new policy started is not yet available.
"With Fusus, like most companies, there is really a failure to substantiate their marketing claims and prove that you’re getting anything more than a shiny new toy." — Albert Fox Cahn, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
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As more and more law enforcement agencies opt in to real-time crime center methodologies, Fox Cahn says his organization is finding “increasingly common and problematic” instances of abuse of the systems. Business owners who do not wish to opt in to live video monitoring often hesitate to call 911 in the case of emergencies out of concerns they will be treated like “second-class citizens,” he said.
Only authorized Dallas Police Department personnel will be allowed to use the CONNECT DALLAS program, Lowman said. She added that those personnel will be trained on the platform and its program guidelines, but declined to specify any policies that have been put in place to prevent potential system abuses.
The CONNECT DALLAS website says camera registry information will not be subject to public data requests, and access to databases is restricted by networking rules. Fusus employees with access to the software “undergo an extensive screening process, including background checks and fingerprinting.”
An Unclear Impact On Public Saftey
In Arlington, data on Fusus' impact on investigations is not yet available because the system is so new.“We’re only a few months into the program, so we’re still learning a lot about it and its effectiveness,” Ciesco said. “We are pleased with the early results.”
A lack of substantial evidence that the surveillance system results in greater public safety was one reason that officials in Columbia, Missouri, voted against implementing the software in 2022. The vote narrowly failed after four hours of public comment. Pat Fowler, who sat on the Columbia City Council at the time of the vote, told Reuters she voted against the system after Fusus was unable to produce data showing the system works.
The Fusus website says the technology “enables law enforcement and public safety agencies to operate more efficiently” and improves operational intelligence. However, actual data or independently conducted reports on the company that would substantiate those claims are not available.
Fusus did not respond to request for comment. The company also did not respond to a request for studies or data that may show the effectiveness of the technology. A 2023 budget accountability report shows that three years of the Fusus platform will cost DPD nearly half a million dollars.
“I think if I were a Dallas taxpayer, probably the first thing I would be questioning about this arrangement, before you get into privacy, before you get into civil rights, is just well, what evidence is there that all of this money is going to get us anything valuable?” Fox Cahn said. “And with Fusus, like most companies, there is really a failure to substantiate their marketing claims and prove that you’re getting anything more than a shiny new toy.”
