Cameras Everywhere: Ring Helping Police Solve Crimes

It was only a few years ago when the wireless doorbell company, Doorbot, debuted on Shark Tank and failed to secure a deal. Despite not securing the deal though, the company would soon be changed forever. According to CEO Jamie Siminoff the exposure for the product and his company helped to throttle the revenue and awareness at every level.

Shortly after, he decided to re-brand the company and go with the name Ring, back in 2014.

Eventually, the company was sold to Amazon for $1 billion. They've now got a team of more than 1,000 people and at least 10 core products that they offer that can be found in thousands of stores.

Along the way they've managed to secure funding from people like Virgin Group billionaire Richard Branson and, Goldman Sachs, and others. Back in 2012, they only had 8 people working on the team, they were working out of a garage and had feared that they soon might go out of business. Things have sure turned around quickly.

Ring claims that its devices are helping to slash crime and they've been working with law enforcement to help them try and solve and prevent crimes.

They've previously claimed that the doorbell might help to reduce burglaries by as much as 50 percent or more.

It seems that every other house today has already installed a Ring doorbell system and now law enforcement agencies have been partnering with Ring to try and prevent and solve crimes.

The video footage from the device is high-quality video surveillance and with the homeowners consent, they've been able to give that footage to the police to help them investigate various crimes.

“[It's] Facebook meets neighborhood watch” - Green Bay police captain J Muraski

Right now, anyone can download the Ring Neighbors app and they have the ability to see what is going on in their own neighborhood and other regions, by looking at the different surveillance clips that are available.

Law enforcement agencies have the ability to also access a special portal that will show officers a map that details where each Ring doorbell is located in a certain area.

"It doesn't show us an exact address or give us any personal information. It will instead show up as 'Neighbor 17,' on Shawano Avenue, for example,... From an investigative standpoint, this is great. Let's say there was some suspicious activity, maybe somebody had their car broken into in an area where Rings are installed. There is the potential that something important was caught on camera." - Muraski

For any police department that might be interested in viewing certain footage from the system, they can make a request through the system.

The Ring doorbell system doesn't automatically record and save the footage either, users have to decide whether they want to subscribe to that service which is around $30 per year.

In the Green Bay area alone it's reported that Ring has already helped to solve at least 3 crimes and it's estimated that there are at least 400 different cameras that have been installed on homes around the city.

The department has also struck a deal with Ring, to receive a free doorbell for every 20 people that they get to download the Ring Neighbor app. They've already been able to give out at least 8 free Ring doorbells to people in the city.

Security researchers warn that the Ring doorbell might leave you vulnerable to spying though. They've warned that an attacker might be able to gain access to the individual's Wi-Fi network and from there could see the video and audio that is being transmitted from the Ring doorbell device. But despite the possibility for vulnerability, many people are still eager to purchase their own Ring doorbell for their home.

Pics:
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4