The doorbell-camera company Ring has deals in place with dozens of police departments throughout the Garden State, giving cops in these municipalities a quicker route to access homeowners' video footage following a crime or emergency.

A report by The Washington Post cites more than 400 such partnerships nationwide, including 31 in New Jersey.

The partnerships allow police to request recorded footage from Ring devices within a certain distance and time of an incident. The request to homeowners is made by Ring, based on police department's wishes.

Police are not told which exact homes are in possession of a device, or which homeowners choose to decline them access to their footage.

"Those people are free to say they want to share it or no they don't," said Jason Roebuck, Chief of Police in Long Branch.

The Monmouth County city has had a deal in place with Ring since February 2019. Roebuck said the partnership has come in handy; officers use it "on a semi-regular basis."

"I just think it's a great way for us to leverage another resource and for people to help us solve things," Roebuck said.

Several law enforcement entities throughout New Jersey run databases which request that homeowners and businesses register their privately owned surveillance systems, so police know where they can turn to for potential answers.

Police departments in these New Jersey municipalities have partnered with Ring, according to a map created by The Washington Post.

  • Berkeley
  • Bloomfield
  • Brick
  • Caldwell
  • Cedar Grove
  • Chatham
  • Cliffside Park
  • Clifton
  • Essex Fells
  • Ewing
  • Fairfield
  • Glen Ridge
  • Hanover
  • Lakewood
  • Lincoln Park
  • Lindenwold
  • Long Branch
  • Manchester
  • Maywood
  • Metuchen
  • Montclair
  • Mount Olive
  • North Bergen
  • Ocean
  • Parsippany-Troy Hills
  • Point Pleasant
  • Roselle
  • Stafford
  • Toms River
  • Union City
  • Woodcliff Lake

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Contact reporter Dino Flammia at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com.

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