Wichita Falls ( KFDX/KJTL ) — In a bid to increase transparency, Ring changed its policy earlier this year to stop allowing police to request video footage directly from users.

Despite this policy shift, Wichita Falls police are finding alternative methods of acquiring surveillance footage.

“So there’s been a change now in Ring’s policy that subpoenas would be required which is not anything new,” said WFPD Sgt. Charlie Eipper. “We’ve had to do that with phone records already in the past, so it hasn’t become so much of a burden that it really hinders our investigations.”

In fact, WFPD has their own program called SAFECAM that allows residents to voluntarily inform the department of their cameras so that officers can ask for footage if needed.

Once footage is collected it’s then securely documented. Sgt. Eipper also notes that they only ask for specific time frames.

“We definitely don’t want to be accused of using stuff that’s not relevant to an actual investigation, so that’s why we don’t ask for a broad time frame”, said Sgt. Eipper.

By engaging with residents directly, police departments are able to access valuable footage that can help or solve investigations. altogether making for a safer community.

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