Criminals Beware: Sheriff's Eye On Crime May Be Watching You

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL -- A new public safety tool being used by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has helped recover more than $1 million worth of stolen vehicles in the past six months.

According to Sheriff Chad Chronister, in the six months since launching the Eye on Crime program, his office was able to locate 81 stolen vehicles and make 39 arrests.

The Eye on Crime unit monitors more than 100 cameras placed across the county as well as license plate readers. Eye on Crime personnel then notify patrol units when a stolen vehicle or license plate passes a reader, and provides updates to deputies as they track the stolen vehicle.

Personnel also monitor radio traffic and provide assistance with any active calls in the area of the cameras. Videos of traffic crashes, missing persons, and fleeing suspects are commonly provided.The cameras allow deputies to keep an eye on trouble spots, monitor streets for emergencies and give residents a sense of safety.

The program isn't a secret. The cameras are mounted on utility poles inside tinted domes. A box, emblazoned with the sheriff’s office star on three sides, sits atop the cameras.

The project has been about two years in the making.

"I couldn't be more excited that we as a sheriff's office have been able to integrate technology into our crime fighting with such great success," said Chronister. "Our Eye on Crime cameras allow our covert units to move in and effect arrest without causing damage or putting our community at risk due to some lengthy pursuit."

Funded with a $1 million federal grant, 20 of the Eye on Crime cameras were placed at strategic locations in the high-crime University Area bordered by Bearss Avenue, Fowler Avenue, Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Nebraska Avenue.

The wireless cameras are monitored by deputies at the Patrol District I headquarters, 14102 N. 20th St. Deputies are also able to access the camera feeds from the laptop computers in their patrol cars. The cameras can zoom, pan and monitor a 360-degree field of view.

In addition, multiple cameras can be monitored at the same time to watch intersections and parking lots. The cameras will record activity 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that footage will be stored for a predefined amount of time. That affords deputies the opportunity to review what the cameras captured days or weeks earlier.

The cameras will monitor only public areas, so the residents need not worry about a camera looking into their windows or back yards.