The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has said that it is now ready to network with homeowners in the county who have been making use of a via-internet remote house monitoring and security device that has grown increasingly popular.
The Ring Video Doorbell app allows users to monitor several different doorbell cameras via wi-fi. Activity picked up by motion sensors actuates the camera mounted to capture the area at and around entrances to the user’s domicile. A signal is sent to the user’s cellphone, from which the user can then view in real time the activity being recorded. Even as the video footage is being relayed to a cloud server for future access, the user can speak to those upon his doorstep or any other entrances to the home using a microphone and speaker built into the system.
In recent weeks, personnel from the sheriff’s office received training on the features of the system and the department has now authorized and enabled them to receive, with the individual users’ consent, the digitized information the Ring video system involves.
Department personnel, in addition to being provided with the videos, have the ability to interact with the app users.
While the Ring system and Neighbors app are tools that allow interaction and sharing information, they are not monitored 24/7. The Neighbors app is not designed to replace traditional crime reporting. Crime victims can report a crime of suspicious activity to the local San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department dispatch center at the emergency 9-1-1 number. Less pressing reports can be made by calling the department’s non-emergency lines. The valley number is 909 387-8313 and the desert number is 760 956-5001.