The Fairfax Police Camera Registration Program is a voluntary record of home or business security cameras, meant to assist officers during an investigation.

In the event of a critical incident or criminal investigation, business or residential security cameras may capture evidence essential to solving a case. Police investigations frequently involve officers canvassing neighborhoods surrounding a crime scene for security cameras. Knowing where they are located greatly speeds up investigations by
allowing officers to prioritize where to begin looking for evidence. Many times the best available video evidence is not of the crime scene itself, but of pathways and streets leading into and out of the crime scene.

Video cameras are increasingly being used in both residential and commercial properties to prevent crime and to memorialize events as they occur. As such, video evidence has become extremely helpful in solving crimes, identifying perpetrators, and serves as valuable evidence in court.

The Fairfax Police Department is forming a program that allows residents and businesses that have security video cameras on their property to register them with the police department. Participation in the Fairfax Police Camera Registration Program is completely voluntary and there is no fee. All registered information is kept confidential and
will only be viewed by Fairfax Police Department personnel during criminal investigations. The Fairfax Police Department does not monitor or control any registered cameras.

What helpful information will you need to provide to register your security camera system with the Fairfax Police Department?

• Name
• Address (If a business please add the name of your business)
• Primary/Secondary Contact information (Phone number, Email address)
• How long will your system store video footage before it’s deleted?
• What areas does your camera system cover? (I.E. Front yard, Backyard, Overlooks town streets.)

The Police Department will maintain a list of residents and businesses that have camera systems and what areas in the community they may be capturing. Participating in this program would greatly assist the Police Department when there is a need to canvas the area for information that would help solve crimes.

If you are considering purchasing a video surveillance system, please consider the following:

• The higher the resolution of the video the better results that will be yielded;
• A minimum of 30-days storage of information is recommended;
• Camera placement is extremely important.
• Camera(s) should face entrance and exit points; and,
• Camera(s) should be located on private property only.

Note: Cameras can be mounted on private property only. They cannot be mounted on telephone poles, street light poles or other town sign poles (street signs, directional signs). Cameras can be positioned to capture anything you can see with your eye.

If you are interested in participating in this partnership with the Fairfax Police Department, please complete the attached registration form and submit it to the Fairfax PD by mail, email, fax, or by dropping it off at the Police Department lobby at 144 Bolinas Road in Fairfax.