Operation Watch Dog
Johnson County Operation Watchdog
powered by the Johnson County Sheriff's Office
Johnson County Operation Watchdog, sponsored by the Johnson County Sheriff's Office encourages residents and businesses to register their privately owned home/business video surveillance systems in efforts to increase safety and reduce crime. Law Enforcement recognizes that crimes can be committed at any place or time and that home/business video surveillance may have captured vital footage that could help solve crimes in our community. During a criminal investigation, officers are often unaware of the many residences and businesses that have surveillance systems which may have captured footage of value to the investigation. Having knowledge of the location of a surveillance system in the area could be instrumental in a successful resolution.
Why Register
There are several benefits to registering with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office Operation Watchdog. It expedites the retrieval of footage from surveillance systems close to the crime scene which may have recorded criminal activity. It also reduces the number of officers assigned to canvass the area around a crime scene looking for operational surveillance systems. This allows officers assigned to the investigation to be deployed to other tasks in the investigation thereby enabling a higher degree of efficiency of allocated resources. Please note that this program does not give police the ability to tap into any home or business surveillance feeds.
If you are signed up for Operation Watchdog and a crime occurs in your neighborhood, you may be contacted by a Deputy who would ask if you could examine the time frame in question for potential video footage. If your equipment was able to record pertinent information, we would arrange a convenient time and day to retrieve the footage from you.
Your participation in Operation Watchdog always remains 100% voluntary and your personal information will be kept confidential and not for public dissemination. Only law enforcement personnel can view the surveillance footage.
How it works:
Registration: This step is easy and takes just a few minutes to complete. You provide contact information and tell us where your cameras are located. There is no cost for registration.
Confirmation: Once the application is completed, a member of the Sheriff's Office will follow up with you to confirm your information.
Call for Assistance: The Sheriff's Office will only contact you if there is a criminal incident in the area of your security cameras. The Deputy may request a copy of any video captured by your cameras which may be pertinent to the investigation.
Terms and Conditions
The Sheriff's Office Operation Watchdog is created to partner up with our residents and businesses by working together as a team to combat criminal activity in your neighborhoods and business areas. By joining this program the registrants agree to the following Terms and Conditions.
- Any video footage collected by the Sheriff's Office relating to criminal activity may be used in the investigation and as possible evidence.
- Video footage provided to the Sheriff's Office is reserved for Official Use Only.
- Under no circumstances shall registrants construe that they are acting as an agent/employee of any law enforcement agency through the Operation Watchdog program.
- When necessary, the Sheriff's Office will contact you directly using the information provided to obtain security camera footage.
- You agree not to release any video footage or still images to the public or media without first consulting the Sheriff's Office. Exception to this condition: Registered users may continue to share their images and video (with or without audio) via the "Ring Neighbors" tool (Ring Alarm Security System).