Operation Watchdog
The North Plainfield Police Department is committed to a productive partnership with the community. In an effort to expand that partnership and provide more comprehensive services to the community the North Plainfield Police Department is initiating Operation Watch Dog. This program encourages residents and businesses to register their privately owned home/business video surveillance in efforts to increase safety and reduce crime. The department 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 our officers are often unaware of the many residences and businesses that have surveillance systems who may have captured footage of value to the investigation. Having knowledge of the location of a surveillance system in the area of a crime could be instrumental in a successful resolution.
There are several benefits to registering with the North Plainfield Police Department Operation Watch Dog. It expedites the retrieval of footage from surveillance systems close to the crime scene in an effort to uncover criminal activity. It also reduces the number of officers assigned to canvass the area around a crime scene 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 the Operation Watch Dog and a crime occurs in your neighborhood, you may be contacted by a North Plainfield Police Officer 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 Watch Dog 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.
Operation Watch Dog is just another useful tool which offers residents and businesses the opportunity to partner with the North Plainfield Police Department in the fight against crime throughout the township. If you would like to participate in this program residents and businesses are encouraged to register their cameras at no cost by filling out a short application below.
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 North Plainfield Police Department who will follow up with you to confirm your information.
-
Call for Assistance:
The North Plainfield Police will only contact you if there is a criminal incident in the area of your security cameras. Police personnel may request a copy of any video captured by your cameras which may be pertinent to the investigation.