Camera registry can help solve violent crimes faster, Surrey RCMP says

RCMP unveils high-tech tool against violent crime The day after a shootout in Surrey that saw nine people arrested, the city and police have unveiled a new public safety initiative

One day after a terrifying public shootout near a Surrey hotel, Mounties have unveiled a new tool designed to help combat violent crime in the city.

The RCMP has set up an online database of surveillance cameras that investigators will use to track down video evidence in the event a crime is committed nearby, Chief Supt. Dwayne McDonald announced at a news conference Tuesday.

Mounties are asking any Surrey residents or businesses with security cameras to register their devices in the database, but stressed that participation is strictly voluntary.

"Ideally we'd like 100 per cent of businesses to participate," McDonald told reporters.

The RCMP already has access to 400 traffic cameras at major intersections in the city, but said the registry, dubbed the Integrated Resources for investigation and Safety, or Project IRIS, would still make policing serious crimes much faster.

IRIS will cut down on the time officers need to spend scouring the areas around crime scenes for useable video, according to McDonald.

"We literally go door-to-door in residential neighbourhoods and in business communities knocking on doors, trying to make contact," he said.

The new crime-fighting technology arrives amid Surrey’s ongoing struggle to combat violent crime. Monday’s shootout in the parking lot of the Pacific Inn hotel, which resulted in nine arrests but no injuries, marked the 50th shooting incident reported in the city so far this year.

Though the registry could help investigate such incidents faster, police said it won’t give them access to a person or business’s security video whenever they want. Officers would still have to contact the owner after a crime has occurred to obtain the footage.

During the Project IRIS announcement, Mounties also unveiled a new Surrey RMCP app that has information on wanted suspects, missing persons, and crime statistics.

Anyone who wants to register for Project IRIS can do so on the City of Surrey's website.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Nafeesa Karim