SHAWNEE COUNTY (KSNT) — Shawnee County law enforcement agencies are asking residents to register security cameras to aide in investigations. The Shawnee County Sheriff's Office announced in a news release Tuesday, Oct. 15 that Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill and Topeka Police Interim Chief Haltom launched a new safety initiative to "provide critical and actionable information that speeds up investigations and emergency response and keeps residence safer". This public safety initiative is a Real Time Crime Center. Hill and Haltom are working with Fusus, a digital intelligence platform. The Crime Center's platform will include a camera registry called Connect Shawnee County. This county-wide platform will give residents the option to voluntarily register the location of security cameras. 18 people applied to be the next Topeka Police Chief; what’s next in the selection process After a camera is registered, law enforcement can use that access to quickly identify locations of video systems that possibly captured important activity to aid criminal investigations. “I see Connect Shawnee County as a new type of neighborhood watch,” Hill said. “It is acompletely voluntary program that allows citizens to partner with law enforcement in leveragingtechnology to enhance public safety. Connect Shawnee County will be a tremendous resourcefor law enforcement and the community. We are excited to partner with the Topeka PoliceDepartment, Chief Haltom and the citizens of Shawnee County in this new endeavor.” Hill and Haltom are encouraging owners of residential and commercial property and business owners to register their security cameras. According to the news release, registrant information and video provided will be confidential and only be used in a criminal investigation or emergency incident. Shawnee County DA charges woman with manslaughter after 2023 crash Please note: This process does NOT give law enforcement access to your camera system, hard drive, or video footage. The registration only informs the Center of where camera footage might be requested from, in the nearby area of an incident or investigation. Think of it as a modern day neighborhood watch program, and a significant step forward in enhancing our community safe.. Hill said in the news release According to the news release, the Crime Center works to unify public and private video to streamline law enforcement's capability in Topeka. This will put 911 and Computer-Aided-Dispatch (CAD) integration, officer geolocation and the ability to pull multiple types of data ranges from floor plans, cell phone video and body camera footage into a single map-based interface. To register your security cameras, click here. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.