Amazon Partners With Police To Advertise Home Surveillance Cameras

Amazon has shown its interest in surveillance camera tech through different programs asking people to volunteer their houses' cameras. According to Motherboard, there’s a collaboration between Amazon and police departments in the US which allows Amazon to advertise its Ring cameras through law enforcement agencies. In return, police will receive Ring cameras for free and a portal in disguise that enables them to request direct surveillance footage. While it is actually not really clandestine, many people worry that the collaboration between two sides is too close and they are trying to persuade locals to make concessions about their private life.

In the situation of the police department in Lakeland, Florida, Amazon made a donation of 15 doorbells that are equipped with cameras and launched a campaign that persuaded residents in Lakeland to purchase a neighborhood watch app from Ring called Neighbors on their smartphones. Each download that was qualified would make a contribution of 10 dollars to the cost of one more giveaway doorbell.

In return, Lakeland police department not only made "outreach efforts" to advertise Ring and Neighbors, but also specifically treated Ring as a point of coordinators and contact for social media, the community, the press, and investigations. As stated by a representative from Ring with Motherboard, it wasn’t compulsory to take the positions. However, one staffer from this company, through his email, mentioned the required training session through the Internet for those who would be in charge of these roles.

Amazon also supported different cities, including Jersey City, Albuquerque, and Green Bay, with its material. With crafting material from Amazon, they created stings against package thieves. Especially, Amazon provided at least one city with theft heat maps to create the stings.

Unlike what was originally asserted by Motherboard, a representative from Ring declared that people were all able to learn about their partnerships, and the contract between Ring and US PD had been reviewed by public institutions before being signed by officials. In addition, press releases and notifications on Neighbors app also clarify their partnership. The ring put emphasis on the purpose of the team-ups, which is to "make neighborhoods safer," and specially mentioned "many positive examples" of cooperation.

While there might be no lies about this information, it’s not the main problem. On top of oppositions to the close collaboration between the police and companies from the beginning, you are making a contribution (with approval) to a surveillance system that is likely to keep an eye on your house and anything that surveillance cameras from Ring can view. However, whether homeowners are really comfortable with and prepared for police being able to use the cameras at their house is still a big question.

The Neighbors app also has some issues. Much similar to Nextdoor, this app comes along with the problem of racism and otherwise the suspicion culture. With request from Amazon, US PD may inadvertently provoke the sense of difference among people.