security service for home
On June 21, Chris Williams, the captain of the El Monte Police Department in California, sent an email to staff reminding them about a new incentive for crime witnesses to share information with law enforcement. Rather than the cash reward used by some programs, El Monte gave out camera equipped doorbells made by the home security
company Ring, which retail starting at $99. “The Ring Home Security Camera system provides not only intelligence about suspect’s action and descriptions, but serves as a deterrent to crime,” Williams wrote, according to documents obtained in response to a public records request. Earlier that year, El Monte had entered into an official partnership with Ring, which gives officers access to an online platform where
they can ask citizens for footage from their doorbell cameras that may be connected to a crime investigation. In exchange, police departments promote the use of Ring’s cameras and its associated crime watch app, Neighbors. A few weeks after Williams sent out a reminder about the rewards program, a Ring employee emailed him with a congratulatory note: “Since EMPD first onboarded on 5/1, you have all increased your Neighbors app users El Monte residents by 1,058 users!Great job!”While El Monte’s rewards program is fairly unique, the police department’s relationship with Ring isn’t. According to one memo uncovered by Gizmodo earlier this week, over 225 other police departments have entered into contractual partnerships with the surveillance company, which was acquired by Amazon last year for over $800 million. Some departments have given out free or discounted Ring devices to the community, and city governments are also subsidizing Ring products using taxpayer money, according to reporting from Motherboard. Ring says it didn’t pay for the doorbells given out in El Monte, and the police department did not return a request for comment. Ring’s partnerships with law enforcement have come under growing scrutiny in recent months, as media reports have raised questions about their lack of transparency and potential for privacy abuses. Ring argues that its products can drastically reduce crime in communities, but critics have questioned the grounds for those claims.
Blandit Etiam
With the right home security system, it’s possible to have value, quality, peace of mind, and a true sense of security. That’s a great feeling, and one of the ways to get that feeling more easily is to focus on having a doorbell camera. Being able to see who is there before a homeowner open the door matters — but this kind of camera can provide a lot more than just
seeing the person on the front porch from another room in the house. Now, thanks to the latest and greatest technology, a homeowner can use their doorbell camera to see the person on their porch from wherever they are — even if they aren’t home at all. When paired with the best choice for home security, a doorbell camera can be the right option. They usually cost between $150 and $250, with some models costing slightly more or slightly less than that. This is a small price to pay for security in the minds of most homeowners, however, and a fair deal for
those who are away from home a lot of the time. They want to see what is happening at their home, and if they have a doorbell camera they are essentially paying for peace of mind. Most homeowners feel that is a price they are happy to pay, because they don’t have to worry about whether someone ringing the security doorbell will realize they aren’t home and try to cause a problem. Being able to communicate through the camera and doorbell arrangement lets anyone ringing the bell think that someone is home, which can more easily deter vandals, burglars, and others who could become a problem. When we reviewed the August Doorbell Cam Pro back in 2017, it earned our Editors' Choice for its sharp video quality, clean two way audio, and easy installation.
