Amazon will no longer allow police to request video from Ring doorbell cameras on its neighborhood watch app. The app’s “Request for Assistance” tool is being removed.
“What Ring did is mandate the legal process, as opposed to volunteer processing,” said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia. He calls it a “step back” in the advanced technology.
Gramaglia said for past investigations, such as stolen cars, police utilized other Ring doorbell cameras to try and track where a suspect may have fled. Police would request footage through the app, in addition to canvassing the area.
The change will now just take away the simple tool, which only helped authorities as they physically investigated an area.
“What’s changed here with Ring is loss of efficiency,” said Gramaglia. “We’re still going to be able to go door-to-door, which adds time to talk to people to see if we can take a look at their cameras.”
If residents don’t cooperate, police can still obtain video through a subpoena or reservation order, but that adds time to the investigative process.