Tupelo Police Department introduces new crime-fighting tool

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Tupelo police have a new crime-fighting tool, and residents and business owners can play a part.

With property crimes increasing nationwide, more homeowners are turning to security cameras to help protect their valuables.

“It gives the homeowner situational awareness of what’s going on with their property, while they’re there and when they’re away,” said Tupelo Police Captain Doug Mansell.

Mansell said Tupelo police now have a high-tech tool to help fight crime. It is called FUSUS and has been in use by the Starkville Police Department.

“That is where the idea started and with the support of Mayor Jordan, and the city council, we’re starting a real-time command center, more of a virtual command center. FUSUS is a cloud-based platform, that allows us to bring in various sources of data, from publicly owned cameras, to license plate readers, and puts it all in one place to be accessed from a computer,” said Mansell.

It also allows residents who have security cameras to register with the police department, providing their address and contact information.

So far the only concerns raised involve privacy issues. But Tupelo police have no direct access to security camera feeds from homeowners.

“It simply lets us know they exist and we can ask by phone or email if they have video evidence. Then they could send that file to the police department. It can be a time saver for investigators if there is a rash of car burglaries in a neighborhood, investigators wouldn’t have to go door to door asking if they have cameras, they could see from the Fusus platform if they registered,” said Mansell.

Business owners can purchase hardware that connects to security cameras. That service gives police access to live feeds and videos from businesses to help create safer workplaces and investigate criminal activity.

There is no cost to register with the FUSUS system, but it is only available for Tupelo residents and businesses. For more information on how to register, go to connecttupelopolice.org

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