ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The Albany Police Department (APD) has expanded its FUSUS camera access program by adding 40 businesses in the past year, but officials say they need more participation from local companies to fight crime effectively.

The FUSUS program allows companies to grant police access to their security cameras, enabling officers to respond to crimes more quickly with real-time information. The system protects both officers and company assets.

Albany State University (ASU) joined the program, providing access to 200 cameras. The system has been used more than 30 times in the past year, giving officers real-time information before arriving at scenes.

“All too often stuff happens in the middle of the night nobody’s in the business it’s locked up they are at home relaxing and in the middle of the night there cameras are still operable and that gives us the ability to respond to their alarm system and open up those cameras and see what’s going on in the middle of the night,” said David Sparks, senior crime and intelligence analyst.

Police host informational meeting

APD is hosting a Crime Prevention Informational Meeting for businesses Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at the police department to encourage more participation.

“We don’t host these for our own benefit; we host these for our businesses. We don’t have any hidden agenda. We are all about working in this community and with our citizens as well. We are always striving to try to do better, and find new ways to improve on what we do,” said Corporal Dillard Glover.

Business owners interested in joining the program can attend the meeting to learn more about the camera access system.

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