VIDEO: Do home security cameras really solve crimes?
The short version: KIRO 7 asks if home security cameras actually solve crimes — a fair question, but the bigger issue is what happens when that footage feeds networked, always-on surveillance.
Our Take
KIRO 7 News is asking a question worth asking: do all these Ring doorbells and driveway cameras actually help solve crimes, or do they just make people feel safer while quietly building a private surveillance grid? Credit to their reporting team for digging into the efficacy side of the equation — most coverage just assumes more cameras equals more safety, no questions asked.
But here's what often gets left out of these segments: the conversation about individual home cameras is a different animal from the automated license plate reader networks we track. A homeowner's doorbell cam is opt-in and usually stays in that homeowner's control. Flock Safety's ALPR cameras are government or HOA-installed, run 24/7, and log every plate that passes — whether you're a suspect or just someone driving to work. One is a tool you choose. The other is infrastructure you can't opt out of.
If a single doorbell camera's crime-solving value is already up for debate, that should make us more skeptical, not less, of blanket ALPR dragnets that scoop up everyone's movements on the promise of catching a few bad actors. Check our map to see what's already watching your street, and hit take action if you want to push back on unchecked camera creep in your town.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of KIRO 7 News, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.