A national database of surveillance camera maps is now used across the police service. Developed for the police, customs and the border guard, the database of surveillance camera maps is a platform for storing the location data of surveillance cameras located in public spaces.
The map database is used to store location data of surveillance cameras as well as contact details of surveillance camera owners collected with the permission of camera owners.
“The purpose of the map database is to help the staff of police departments to best utilize the network of existing surveillance cameras and the improved picture quality. With the map database and the stored contact details, the police can get visual footage of suspected crimes more quickly,” says Pekka Sallinen, a chief superintendent from the National Police Board, in a statement.
The police ask owners of surveillance camera equipment to join the efforts to expand the map database.
“Our goal is to get the majority of surveillance cameras in Finland recorded in the map database. This will speed up police investigations since the police will no longer need to first find out if there is any camera surveillance at the scene of the crime. With the map database, this can be determined when the crime is reported, which also means that the footage stored in the surveillance systems is less likely to have been destroyed by the time the police can investigate it,” Sallinen says.
Sallinen emphasizes that the map database does not give the police access to the operating systems of cameras. Moreover, submitting information to the map database is voluntary.
“Police departments will contact owners of surveillance camera systems by sending an official request to have their surveillance system included in the map database,” Sallinen says.
